The women’s basketball team shoots to do better than ever. Photo from GoRhody.
Year two for any coaching staff is usually the year a small, but not a massive, leap happens before a team makes its ascent to lofty heights. If that is the case, then the University of Rhode Island’s Women’s Basketball team is already ahead of schedule.
The Rams entered their second season under Head Coach Tammi Reiss full of optimism in a time where the world at large is anything but. Rhody is coming off a 13-16 season, the most wins the team has had since the 2014-15 season. Their 10 home wins were the most in the last 26 seasons for the program, and this was all done with a rotation that rarely went more than eight players deep.
This season, the goals are even loftier. The team filled out goal sheets for the season, with players and coaches aligned in what they wanted to accomplish: win the Atlantic 10 regular season, win the A-10 championship and win a game in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
“Those are three lofty goals that this program has never seen before, but I love the fact that they’re very measurable goals,” said Coach Reiss. “Last year we didn’t have those goals. It was a much more process-driven oriented type of team and coaching staff. Now that we kind of have our process and culture set, now we have to accomplish some things.”
Only three players on the roster have starting experience wearing the Keaney blue colors, with experienced stalwarts like Davida Dale and Nicole Jorgensen having graduated in the spring. Both are now playing professional basketball overseas.
Thankfully for the Rams, Marta Vargas returns at point guard. She was given the keys to the offense last year and played brilliantly before a foot injury in December limited her to a nine-game season. Coach Reiss said with a healthy Vargas, the team would have earned five or six more wins. The senior from Portugal, now 100 percent healthy, is thankful to be back on the court.
“It’s been a long time,” said Vargas. “The last practice we had before we got back [in the fall] was in March. It’s been such a long time since we were back on the court, so it feels amazing.”
The team co-captain will be joined by a batch of players who have great experience both inside and outside the program. Redshirt sophomore Marie-Paule Foppossi sat out last season after transferring from Syracuse, where she played under Coach Reiss when she was an assistant coach. Emmanuelle Tahane is also eligible this season after transferring from Missouri, where she went up against the likes of WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson during her time as Tiger. Both players practiced and were involved with the team throughout last season.
Graduate student Johanna Muzet will look to partner Vargas in the backcourt. The newcomer Muzet, a transfer from Washington State, brings experience to Rhody after competing against high-quality opposition such as Sabrina Ionescu in the PAC-12. With many faces from different areas of the basketball world, Coach Reiss says the level of play has picked up.
“We have these kids transferring in from very good leagues,” she said. “It elevated our skill level really quick.”
The team was able to stay connected over the summer the same way everyone else has: via Zoom. They had weekly meetings, usually on Sundays, where players and coaches based in France, Portugal and the United States could come check in with each other and keep each other engaged.
A point of emphasis for the team this summer was responding to the social injustice and Black Lives Matter movement. Coach Reiss said some of the players went to marches, joined different organizations or dove into voting campaigns. Ultimately, Coach Reiss and her staff did what they have always done since coming to Kingston in the spring of 2019: put the players first.
“The first thing we had to do was obviously talk about it,” she said. “Some kids are better than others, some kids didn’t want to speak about it. We wanted them to know that we supported them, that we were here for them, and we supported whatever their belief was.”
The buzz around the URI Women’s Basketball team has never been louder, and those who are keeping a watchful eye on the program know it isn’t going to be quiet any time soon.