Tahane leading the way for surging Rams

“When you work hard every day of your life and you do it the right way, you are going to be successful,” Head Coach Tammi Reiss said about University of Rhode Island Women’s Basketball forward Emmanuelle “Manue” Tahane. 

Tahane has a long history of success in basketball. She was born in Paris, France and started playing basketball at the age of seven. She attended Marcelin Berthelot High School in her native country, a high-caliber school for athletes. It was there her passion for the game grew. After graduating, she moved up to the national level, participating in both European and World Championships. These competitions are recognized by many large universities in the United States. 

“[The Nationals] are big competitions,” Tahane said. “Scouts from universities come to watch you play from America, so that’s how I got recruited to play here.” 

She is now a star at the University of Rhode Island, although she got her start at the University of Missouri in 2017, where she played for two years. Ultimately, Tahane felt as though the team was not the proper fit for her and she began looking into transferring. This is when Coach Reiss stepped in and offered Tahane a spot. 

“She was one of the main reasons I came to [URI], because of my relationship with her,” Tahane said. “We went to a restaurant, had a lot of conversations, and she just cared a lot about me.”

Due to transfer rules, Tahane had to take the 2019-20 season off, which ended up working in her favor. During her year of inactivity in game situations, Tahane found that she greatly improved as a player, going up against future pros like Nicole Jorgensen in practice. Getting to watch the team from an outsider’s perspective also allowed her to learn the team’s culture and playbook before even stepping onto the court. 

The time she spent immersing herself in the program has led to impressive results. This season, the France-native has been a big part of the 7-2 conference record of the team currently holds. 

Individually, she has an average of 16 points and 10 rebounds, both marks that lead the way for the Rams. Her goal of having a double-double is being met, and, remarkably, she’s second on the team in assists per game.

Tahane has high hopes to one day make it to the pros back in Europe, but as for this season, she wants to become an Atlantic 10 champion. She was named A-10 Conference Player of the Week last month, and her outstanding year comes to no surprise to anyone who knows Tahane’s work ethic, especially Coach Reiss. 

“She’s a workhorse. This kid does everything right,” Coach Reiss said. “Everyday she is putting the work in; everyday.”

Tahane has the Rams on course for their best season in years, and they’ll look to win their sixth straight game on Friday afternoon against George Mason.