Marie-Paule Foppossi recorded her fifth double-double of the season in Sunday’s win against Davidson. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark
The bar continues to be pushed higher in Kingston.
The University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team picked up their eighth straight win on Sunday, defeating the Davidson Wildcats 68-54 to move to 15-3 overall and 5-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season.
The eight-game win streak is the program’s best since the 1978-79 season.
This victory also brings the Rams to 9-0 at the Ryan Center this season, a first in program history. Dating back to the 2020-21 season, the team has won 16 straight at home.
After the game, Head Coach Tammi Reiss said that it was critical to come out with energy and get out to a fast start.
“We’re gonna get on the court and we’re gonna punch them in the mouth,” Reiss said. “We’re gonna take the game to them.”
Rhody got off to a quick start in the first quarter, jumping out to a 15-4 advantage off of a strong opening act by Chanell Williams. The graduate transfer from Providence picked up seven early points along with five rebounds.
Standing at 5’5”, Williams knows the value of having an edge when it comes to playing in the paint.
“I made sure that I was doing my part as far as getting rebounds,” she said. “All the little things that can help the team in any way that I can.”
The Wildcats responded with an 8-point run to end the opening period, but it was the Rams who took control in the second quarter. A 22-7 scoring effort that also saw Rhody collect 15 rebounds lifted them to a 37-19 lead at the halfway point.
Despite Rhode Island’s lead, both teams remained competitive in the second half. This culminated in a physical play under the basket that saw Rhody’s Dez Elmore hit the ground hard. After a lengthy review, there was contact up high and both teams were assessed with fouls.
“She did a good job helping Manue [Tahane] on that spin and got hit right in the face,” Reiss said. “She’s a tough kid and she battles through.”
Elmore re-entered the game after the play and “seemed fine,” according to Reiss.
URI continued to maintain their lead to start the third quarter. The Rams held their largest lead with 4:54 left in the period, leading by 45-23. Davidson played their best in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rams 20-15, but were unable to make up enough ground late in the game.
The Rams finished with four scorers in double digits. Elmore led the way with 13 points, while Williams and sophomore Dolly Cairns each had 12. Redshirt-junior Marie-Paule Foppossi picked up a double-double on 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“It was all the little things,” Reiss said. “They did an excellent job executing it, both defensively and offensively.”
URI will look to remain perfect in conference play Wednesday when they go back on the road to face UMass at the Mullins Center. The game will be a rematch of the team’s 66-58 home victory over the Minutewomen on Jan. 17. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on NESN+.