Touré recorded her eleventh double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds vs. George Washington PHOTO CREDIT: Connor Zisk
Riding an 11 game winning streak and remaining undefeated in conference play, the University of Rhode Island Women’s Basketball team has become the team to beat in the Atlantic 10.
However, even with domination, consistency is needed, and the Rams had to tackle tough opponents in Davidson and George Washington this past week.
The women started their week by traveling down to North Carolina to contest with the Davidson Wildcats.
The game started slow, with Davidson leading only 3-2 through the first five minutes. After that, the scoring picked up, mostly in Davidson’s favor as the Wildcats led at the end of the first quarter, 13-7.
The second quarter saw Davidson continuing to extend their lead with two straight layups. However, an 18-0 Rhode Island run evaporated any Davidson momentum, carried by 10 points from Madison Hattix-Covington. Davidson then leveled the curve to end the second quarter with a deficit of 32-24.
The third quarter saw both teams go back and forth, with neither side able to pull away in either direction. The largest run came from Davidson who led 6-0 over the course of a minute, with four points form Adelaide Fuller and two from Elle Sutphin. The quarter however ended with a similar Rhode Island lead, 49-42.
The fourth quarter saw Davidson almost complete a comeback, even trimming the Rams’ lead to four points with a Suzi-Rose Deegan and-one. However, Rhody closed out the contest winning the foul game by a score of 67-60.
In the victory, Hattix-Covington recorded a season high and career second-best 21 points, a highlight of an already prolific season. Mayé Touré also reached double digits in points with 12, while also leading the Rams in rebounds with eight. Dolly Cairns also hit double digits in points (10) for the eighth time this season.
The Rams still had to return home to take on George Washington on Wednesday night.
The start of the game told the narrative of the entire contest, with Touré grabbing the lead for Rhode Island in the opening minutes.
The first half of the first quarter saw a 9-2 Rhode Island lead, with Touré scoring all the points for the Rams. The Colonials staged a slight comeback attempt, but two three pointers from Sophie Phillips and Sayawni Lassiter closed out the first quarter with a 15-10 URI lead.
The second quarter was also won by Rhode Island, even with a back and forth start. The final minute of the half saw a 6-0 Rhode Island run, capped off by a dramatic half court heave from Ines Debroise, erupting the Ryan Center and giving Rhody a 38-20 lead at the half.
The third quarter stayed consistent with the previous ones, but added a touch of history as Madison Hattix-Covington recorded her 1,000th career point on a buzzer beater three pointer. Touré’s 17th points of the night gave Rhode Island a 19 point lead, but a last second layup by George Washington’s Nya Robertson sent both teams into the fourth quarter with a 50-33 Rams lead.
Five points for Touré in the fourth quarter capped off her night on a solid note, closing out the scoring with one final basket to end the game as Rhode Island won 64-47.
The win was Rhode Island’s 20th of the season, making 2022-23 the first time Rhode Island Women’s Basketball has recorded consecutive 20 win seasons.
The win was also Tammi Reiss’ 66th of her Rhode Island career in her 100th game as the Rams’ Head Coach, making her the winningest URI Head Coach in their first 100 games – Frank Keaney had 60 wins when he hit the century mark.
The win also capped off a week of recognition for the Rams, being named NCAA’s Team of The Week, while Coach Reiss also was named ESPNW’s Coach of The Week. Finally, the Rams received their first vote of the season in USA Today’s national coaches poll.
Even with all of the love and recognition, Reiss is indifferent to the noise surrounding a Rams team on pace for their best season ever.
“I hate it… it doesn’t matter”, said Reiss. “It’s noise, its distractions. I told [the team], it’s just us today, it’s our family, it’s us. I don’t want any of [the recognition], I just want to show up and play the game.”
Touré’s performance reached near career numbers, as she recorded 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 76% shooting. Touré, who has consistently put up double-doubles all season long, believes that these performances no longer stand out, and this is just her as a player.
When asked if she expects a double-double performance from herself night in and night out, her performance was comically blunt.
“Yeah,” Touré said while laughing. “That’s what I aim for, I’m not going to lie.”
Touré, Reiss, and the rest of the Rams are back in action this coming Sunday, when they travel to VCU on Sunday, with tip-off set for noon on ESPNU and The Varsity Network.