A strong third quarter from Long Beach State led to the end of URI’s seven-game winning streak. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
The University of Rhode Island Women’s Basketball team found themselves in the loss column for the first time this season Sunday, closing out their road trip to Virginia and going 1-1 in the Cavalier Classic.
The Rams won Friday’s matchup 80-70 against the University of Virginia before falling 64-52 on Sunday to undefeated Long Beach State University, bringing their record to 7-1 on the season.
The first of the two matchups marked a homecoming for Rams’ Head Coach Tammi Reiss, who spent her college days at Virginia from 1989-1992.
“It’s always good to come home where you’ve had the best memories of your life,” she said. “And it’s always good to get a win against your alma mater.”
URI started their weekend with a strong win against Virginia to mark the program’s first-ever 7-0 start. It was a close battle in the first half, with the Cavaliers holding a one-point lead going into the locker room.
Rhody was able to change the pace in the second half, exploding out front in the third quarter and never looking back on their way to a 80-70 win. Graduate Dez Elmore led the way, finishing the day with a season-high 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
Elmore had eight of URI’s 35 points from the free-throw line — a program record. The Rams also had four total players finish with double-digit scoring figures.
“We didn’t play our best [Friday], but we had a really good second half,” Reiss said. “We made some adjustments, and we executed really well.”
Unlike the second half against Virginia, Sunday’s game against Long Beach State started out sloppy for the Rams. Rhody started with the game down 5-0, while turning the ball over eight times in the first quarter.
Rhode Island’s offense came back alive in the second quarter. Going back to the 3:18 mark in the first, they scored 17 straight points and took the lead for the remainder of the half, going into the locker room up 31-23. The Rams were also dominant in the paint, outrebounding Long Beach State 21-8.
Similar to URI in their previous game against Virginia, Long Beach State took control in the second half. Despite not making any 3-pointers through two quarters, Long Beach State quickly racked up two in quick succession. A 17-0 run by Long Beach State allowed them to pull away, as the Rams were outscored in the third quarter 25-5.
Despite a more competitive fourth quarter, the Rams ran out of time to get back in the game. Rhody finished with 29 turnovers in a 64-52 loss, something that Coach Reiss knows her team has to clean up moving forward.
“Poise is the key, and we were not poised whatsoever,” Reiss said. “They outplayed us; they out-executed us — especially defensively.”
Redshirt junior Emmanuelle Tahane finished as URI’s leading scorer with 18 points, while also recording seven rebounds. Elmore picked up seven points and eight rebounds in the loss.
With their first loss behind them, Coach Reiss believes that her team has an opportunity to “regroup and refocus” heading into December.
“We haven’t really done anything yet, so I’m not sure what exactly we’re feeling so good about,” she said. “A loss always smacks you in the face.”
Looking ahead, Rhody has two games remaining on their road trip before returning home on Dec. 8. The team will have to refocus on their core qualities if they want to get back on track, according to Reiss.
“We have to regroup, and we have to show up ready to battle,” she said. “That starts in practice.”
The Rams travel to face Holy Cross at 6 p.m. tonight before closing out their road trip against Buffalo on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games can be streamed on the ESPN family of networks.