In a rematch of their Feb. 16 game, the Rams fell for a second time to the Dayton Flyers this season. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark | Staff Photographer
The University of Rhode Island Women’s Basketball team will be the No. 2 seed in this weekend’s Atlantic 10 Tournament.
They had a chance to clinch their first ever A-10 regular season title Saturday, but they were denied by the Dayton Flyers 60-46 in a winner-take-all contest for the top seed.
After the two teams were tied at 28 at the end of the first half, the Rams fell apart in the second half, scoring a second-half season-low five points in the third quarter, while allowing the Flyers to push their lead to as much as 20.
Along with poor shooting in the second half, the Rams were outrebounded 24-13, which led to 13 Flyer second-chance points. Head Coach Tammi Reiss was disappointed in her team’s effort on the glass in the second half and credited Dayton for taking advantage of it.
“Rebounding is what we do and we did not do it in the second half,” Reiss said postgame. “I thought Dayton did an excellent job at just hunting the paint — second shots, taking it at us in the paint — and the physicality of the game, they dominated in the second half with that.”
The Rams got off to a quick start, taking a 17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to redshirt senior Emmanuelle Tahane, who scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the period. After scoring only four points when the two teams last met on Feb. 16, Reiss and her staff made it a point of emphasis to get the reigning conference Co-Player of the Year open looks at the basket.
“I think we put [Emmanuelle] in better situations away from the basket, not just sitting her on the block or in the paint to become a little bit more effective,” Reiss said.
Unfortunately, the rest of the team wouldn’t be able to back up her production. All of Rhody’s points came from their starting unit and two of their three leading scorers, Dez Elmore and Marie-Paule Foppossi, combined for only 12 points.
“We had to have big games from our big three — Dez [Elmore], MP [Foppossi] and Manue [Tahane] — and today offensively, Dez and MP weren’t great. It affected us offensively a great deal especially in the second half.”
The two teams exchanged baskets to start the second half, but the Flyers would pull away midway through the third quarter after going on a 12-0 run to take a 44-32 lead with 3:40 left in the period. Chanell Williams ended the drought, going 1-for-2 at the free throw line, but Dayton’s run would prove to be too much for the Rams to overcome.
Besides Tahane, Williams was the lone Ram to finish in double figures with 12 points. Dayton’s Jenna Giacone finished with a game-high 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the three-point line.
Prior to the start of the conference tournament, postseason awards were given out. For a second straight season, Tahane earned All-Conference First Team honors. Elmore and Foppossi also represented the Rams, earning All-Conference Third Team.
The Rams are scheduled to open the tournament on Friday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+ against the winner of the second round matchup between Saint Joseph’s and Duquesne. Reiss said it is going to be important for her team to refocus on the task at hand.
“It’s a new season,” Reiss said. “Everybody in the A-10 will be gunning. We have to find our identity again. What do we do and why do we win basketball games and for the next week, that will be our focus — to become A-10 champions and win that A-10 tourney.”