Davida Dale shoots a corner jumper. Photo by Greg Clark.
The women’s basketball team fell to the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota on Friday in a game that tipped off at 1:00 p.m. The Rams got off to a slow start, trailing 10-4 at the under-five media timeout in the first quarter.
“We didn’t show up prepared,” Head Coach Tammi Reiss said. “We talked about winning, but we didn’t come close to executing.”
At the end of the first quarter, the team was down by just eight points.
“We didn’t take a bus ride to Boston, two planes and another bus ride just to come here and lose like this,” Reiss said.
By the under-five timeout in the second quarter, the Fighting Hawks had increased their lead to 20 points. The Rams then went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 12. At the half, the Rams still trailed 30-19.
“During halftime, I asked them if this was the team that they were and they all said ‘No coach,” Reiss said.
Rhody began to claw and fight at the beginning of the third quarter. Maia Moffit then cut the lead to single digits with a three-point jumper to put the team down just seven. After a 14-12 back-and-forth run, North Dakota headed into the fourth with a comfortable 52-43 lead.
That’s when Kassondra Brown took over. The Ram’s freshman led all scorers with 18 points and also snagged 10 rebounds, all in just 19 minutes off the bench.
“She was huge for us, I knew she was a solid player but I never thought she could take over the game in this stage of the season,” Reiss said. “I just thought it would take a little more time for her to develop.”
Brown then scored five points in less than a minute with two free throws and a three-pointer to cut the lead to just three. However, it was not enough for the Rams, as a last-second shot fell off the rim, forcing a foul on the Rams. This lead the Fighting Hawks to score their final three points, resulting in the 67-61 defeat for the Rams.
Second chance points ended up being the chief undoing of Rhode Island, as North Dakota outscored them 15-7 in that category. The Rams were also outscored 26-18 in points in the paint, another significant advantage for the Fighting Hawks.
The Rams look to bounce back tonight at Boston College. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.