Marta Vargas and the Rams dominated still winless George Mason last Friday in Kingston. Photo From
The University of Rhode Island Women’s Basketball team took on George Mason and Fordham in two key conference matchups this week that led to contrasting results: Rhody extended their conference win streak to six after a rout of George Mason at the Ryan Center, but then had the streak snapped on the road against a tough Fordham team.
The Rams first took on the George Mason Patriots at the Ryan Center on Friday. After a slow start, URI pulled away with dominant defense and stellar shooting from three, winning 63-27.
Rhode Island struggled out of the gates, not scoring their first points until the 7:30 mark of the first quarter. However, great defense and rebounding from redshirt junior Emmanuelle Tahane held the Patriots to just 25 percent shooting from the field and seven points for the quarter. Combining that with two three pointers from senior guard Marta Vargas and freshman Catherine Cairns allowed for the Rams to jump out to a 16-7 lead going into the second quarter.
Rhody was able to ride that momentum throughout the ten minute frame on both ends of the floor. The Rams moved the ball tremendously on offense against the 2-3 zone from George Mason, allowing for them to shoot 5-9 from three and score 22 points for the quarter.
On the defensive end, the Rams were suffocating, holding the Patriots to just two points in the entire frame and preventing them from scoring for the first eight minutes of the period. This huge second quarter run pushed the Rams lead to 29 points going into the half, leading by an eye-popping score of 38-9.
URI was able to see it through in the second half, continuing to stay relentless on the defensive end and keeping their large lead at where it was. Baskets from redshirt sophomore forward Marie-Paule Foppossi and redshirt freshman guard Yanni Hendley allowed for the Rams to fend off any attempt at a George Mason comeback in the third quarter.
The large lead allowed for different Rams to get involved and contribute to the victory. Sophomore center Kassondra Brown scored 6 points and also logged eight rebounds in the victory. Freshman Maye Toure was also able to get in on the scoring in the 39 point-victory.
Cairns and Vargas led the way on the offensive end, scoring 18 and 12 respectively and combining for 10 made threes on the day. On the defensive end, Tahane and Brown were dominant, combining for 23 rebounds and holding the best offensive rebounding team in the conference to just 8 in the game.
Head Coach Tammi Reiss credited the team’s mental preparation in the blowout win.
“It’s all about our mentality,” she said. “It is hard to keep that winning mentality in these weird circumstances, but I am just so proud of my staff and my players. They make my job easy with how hard they work every day.”
The Rams looked to continue that streak of success Sunday on the road against Fordham, one of the only teams in the Atlantic 10 to defeat the Rams this year. Rhody, however, came up just short, losing 56-53 in a hotly contested matchup.
URI led at the half 28-23 behind a great game from senior Johanne Muzet. However, the Rams weren’t able to fend off a Fordham comeback in the second half and dropped to 8-6 on the year.
Muzet finished as the leading scorer for Rhody, logging 16 points while Tahane finished with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The team sits in fifth place in the Atlantic 10 following the 1-1 weekend split.
Rhody was scheduled to play UMASS on Valentine’s Day, but the visitors are on a university-wide pause due to COVID-19. For now, the Rams next game is on the road against Duquesne on Feb. 18.