On Feb. 19, 2022, fifth-year Emma Squires led the University of Richmond Spiders with 27 points in a close 69-66 loss to the University of Rhode Island.
Two months later, on April 25, Squires became a Ram herself, transferring to Kingston, Rhode Island for her graduate season.
The 2021-22 Atlantic 10 Sixth Woman of the Year played an integral role in Rhode Island’s historic 2022-23 campaign. The fifth-year started all 31 games she appeared in, creating a level of consistency in the backcourt for URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss’ Rams.
Squires, among other offseason additions, helped Rhode Island record their best season in program history. Their 26 wins are the most ever in a season and the squad won the A-10 Co-Regular Season Championship for the first time ever.
However, the postseason saw the Rams fall short, losing in the A-10 Championship semifinals to the eventual champion Saint Louis University Billikens. Following that loss, Rhody was able to collect a pair of wins in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, but fell to Harvard in the third round.
Subsequent to that loss, Squires’ National Collegiate Athletic Association eligibility was finished. However, her time in Rhode Island was not.
“I came here to do a certificate in fashion merchandising, which is only a year, and then I was like, ‘Well, I’m halfway done with my masters,’ and I knew I wanted to finish that degree,” Squires said. “That’s something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
With her academic circumstances, Squires knew that she wanted to remain involved with the place and the people she felt at home with.
“Honestly I was like ‘Look, I don’t even need a position here, I just want to come and I want to be around, and I want to help the girls,’” Squires said. “So I was like, ‘In any capacity in which I could do that, that would be awesome,’ and of course they were like, ‘We would love to have you back’… I didn’t even know if this was an opportunity for me and I was just really glad that they welcomed me back.”
Squires was named as a student assistant coach on Reiss’ staff on Aug. 25, keeping her in Kingston for at least one more season. With her new title, Squires is now above eight of her former teammates. However, she doesn’t feel like their relationship is any different.
“Honestly [my role isn’t different] to be honest, because last year I was a captain, so I kind of already felt like I had a role as being that person to hold them accountable, being that role model for them and just being somebody that is there for them on and off the court,” Squires said.
Despite playing four years at the University of Richmond, Squires was sure she wanted to remain a Ram after her playing days concluded. The native of Kingston, Massachusetts now calls Kingston, Rhode Island her home.
“I enjoyed my time at Richmond but this just felt more like home and like family,” Squires said. “To me the biggest thing was the coaches. I, probably for a while, struggled to have coaches that I felt like I could have a really good personal connection with, and I really found that here. I wish that I had them all four years because I grew really close with them, and I didn’t think that having that relationship was possible.”
In terms of the rationale for her extended stay, Squires attributes her extra time in Kingston to a lack of time originally.
“Especially since I only had one year with the team, I felt like I needed more time to be with them and be here,” Squires said. “That’s been really nice and I’ve thought about coaching and kind of what that would look like. This has been a really nice position, to transition from playing to maybe thinking about coaching and trying to figure out what I’m doing with my life.”
The Rams this year have faced tremendous highs and lows. The high came from beating #25 Princeton University this Sunday, 60-58. The low came from a buzzer-beater 61-59 defeat to a 1-4 Quinnipiac University team at home the game prior.
Throughout her five-year playing career, Squires has been in a number of these games, playing in 21 single-score games in her career. Now as a coach, she is sharing this experience with younger players, despite the result.
“Obviously [the Quinnipiac loss] wasn’t the outcome that we wanted, but in those moments it’s all about who wants it more honestly,” Squires said. “Sometimes it doesn’t come down to the x’s or o’s, and [Quinnipiac] played harder than us…So unfortunately those are sometimes the tough lessons that you have to learn as a young team and a young player until you get to be older and know what it takes to close out a game like that.”
At the end of the day, Squires is the same person with a clipboard as she was on the floor. She even goes by the same title with her old teammates.
“They just call me Emma,” Squires said. “I don’t know how I feel about ‘Coach Squires,’ it reminds me of my dad. He was my coach when I was younger so whenever I hear ‘Coach Squires’ I think of my dad. I’m good with just Emma for now.”
Squires and the Rams return to the Ryan Center on Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. when they host Le Moyne University. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.