As the calendar creeps closer to March, teams are now gearing up for the final stretch of the 2023-24 women’s college basketball regular season.
Every week, the Good Five Cent Cigar sports staff will get together to rank the 15 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Here is where the University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team and the rest of the conference stands as of Feb. 18:
15th Place: University of Massachusetts Minutewomen (3-24, 1-14) (-)
The losing streak has now been extended all the way to 13 games for UMass after a couple of blowout losses on their home court. They were defeated by the University of Rhode Island 86-64 and then fell to Virginia Commonwealth University 63-49.
It’s been tough to even find moral victories for this team as of late as they have lost all five of their games in February by double digits and hold the worst point differential in the conference at -14.7. With three games remaining in the regular season, Massachusetts will continue to search for their first win since Jan. 2.
14th Place: St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (4-19, 1-11) (-)
An easy way of summing up how things are going for the Bonnies is that they are still seeking their first win in 2024, with their last victory coming on Dec. 30 against Loyola University Chicago. Like UMass, they also saw their losing streak extended to 13 games with two double digit losses at home to Duquesne University (66-50) and Fordham University (70-48).
They will play their final home game of the regular season this coming week, but it won’t be easy as they will welcome in George Mason University, one of the top teams in the conference.
13th Place: La Salle University Explorers (7-18, 4-10) (-1)
Offensive struggles have been the theme for La Salle throughout the season, ranking 14th in the A-10 with just 57 points per game. Those issues were exemplified when they were held to under 30 points in a 60-29 loss to Saint Joseph’s University on Sunday.
The Explorers have now dropped five straight games and have not scored more than 52 points in their last four contests. The schedule doesn’t get any easier as they will prepare to face two top-five teams in the conference this week with the University of Richmond and VCU.
12th Place: University of Dayton Flyers (10-15, 4-10) (-1)
Dayton suffered their third straight defeat of 20 or more points in their lone game this week, a 73-47 loss to Saint Joseph’s. Even more concerning for the Flyers is that they have scored 50 or less points in all three of these games. Before this stretch, they only had two games scoring 50 or less the entire season.
With a full week off ahead of their next matchup, they will look to get things figured out on the offensive end and try to string a couple wins together down the stretch.
11th Place: George Washington University Revolutionaries (10-16, 3-11) (+2)
For George Washington, they could certainly look back at this week as a step in the right direction. After defeating La Salle 71-49, they led going into the fourth quarter against one of the top teams in the conference, George Mason. Ultimately, they came up just short in a 60-57 loss, but remaining competitive in this game was still a positive.
The Revolutionaries will have another tough test when they travel to play red-hot Duquesne, but they will have a prime opportunity to find another conference win later in the week when they welcome in UMass.
10th Place: Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (12-14, 6-9) (-1)
Loyola Chicago continued their trend this week of battling in just about every game they play, but struggling to find the big wins. Their second half comeback came up short in a 77-68 loss on the road to Saint Louis University and then traveled to Richmond where they fell 75-71.
The last five losses for the Ramblers have all been by 11 or less points, but they have continued to struggle to finish off close games resulting in them losing six of their last seven matchups. The silver lining for them is that they finish off their season with three games against bottom five teams in the conference.
9th Place: Fordham University Rams (10-15, 5-9) (+1)
Fordham only had one game this week, but they were able to keep the momentum rolling with a 70-48 win over St. Bonaventure. This marks three straight wins for the first time since November, and all of them have come in convincing fashion by 14 or more points.
A big time matchup for seeding awaits them this week when they will play Saint Louis at home, a team who sits just one game ahead of them in the current standings.
8th Place: Davidson College Wildcats (18-7, 8-6) (-2)
The Wildcats had one of the high points of their season this week when they took down George Mason 75-67 on Feb. 14, handing them just their third conference loss of the year. This had them going into Rhode Island riding four straight wins on Saturday. However, their streak was snapped in a 61-49 loss on the road.
Considering the fact that they’ll have four games against teams behind them in the standings to close out the regular season, Davidson still has to feel pretty good about how they fared in this tougher part of the schedule.
7th Place: Saint Louis University Billikens (11-16, 6-8) (+1)
There was a chance for Saint Louis to really build momentum when they welcomed in Duquesne on Saturday after back to back wins over Rhode Island and Loyola Chicago. Instead, they trailed from start to finish in a 82-65 loss and have still not won three straight games since November.
Despite the loss, the Billikens still have an opportunity to climb the standings late in the regular season with their next three games all coming against teams in the lower half of the conference standings.
6th Place: University of Rhode Island Rams (17-11, 9-6) (+1)
An undefeated week couldn’t have come at a better time for Rhode Island. The Rams entered the week on a three game losing streak for the first time since December 2020, but they snapped that streak with an 86-64 win over UMass. Despite being against one of the bottom teams in the conference, this win turned out to be exactly what Rhode Island needed as they followed it up by defeating Davidson 61-49 and ending their four-game win streak.
With a full bye week following the big win over Davidson, Rhody has an opportunity to prepare for a couple of tough matchups against Saint Joseph’s and VCU.
5th Place: George Mason University Patriots (20-5, 11-3) (-2)
The Patriots dropped their second game in their last three with a 75-67 loss to Davidson on Feb. 14. They did bounce back with a win over George Washington on Saturday, though in less than convincing fashion, only defeating them by three points.
This slight bump in the road comes back to some uncharacteristic offensive problems as they have the second most points per game in the conference for the year, yet have broken 70 points in just one of their past eight games.
4th Place: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (22-4, 11-3) (-)
There’s no denying that VCU has played at an unbelievable level throughout this season, yet it feels like they are still searching for that signature win. They had a chance to get it this week when they took on in-state rival Richmond at home, but their usually stellar defense allowed 30 points in the final quarter on the way to a 65-58 loss.
They will get another opportunity to add that signature win to their resume when they welcome in conference leading Saint Joseph’s this week.
3rd Place: Duquesne University Dukes (17-9, 12-3) (+2)
During their five game winning streak, the Dukes have yet to face any top-tier opponents in the conference. They are, however, doing exactly what good teams need to do and that’s take advantage of the schedule they have in front of them. That continued this week when they took down both St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis on the road by double digits.
They will have one more matchup against a team in the bottom half of the standings in George Washington before finishing off their regular season with games against the top two teams in the conference, Richmond and Saint Joseph’s. This will be their chance to truly show what they’re made of ahead of the tournament.
2nd Place: University of Richmond Spiders (23-4, 13-1) (-)
In games that were both closer than what they’ve become accustomed to throughout this season, the Spiders were able to win close battles against VCU (65-58) and Loyola Chicago (75-71) this week. Before this, each of their last five wins had all come by double digits.
Richmond continues to be defined by their explosive offense, averaging the most points per game in the conference. They have, though, seen some struggles scoring away from home, only breaking 70 points in two conference road games. That’s something to watch out for when they travel to George Mason for a big matchup this weekend.
1st Place: Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (24-2, 13-1) (-)
It just continues to be pure domination for Saint Joseph’s this season as they have now won 11 straight games. They made a mockery of both of their opponents this week, taking down Dayton 73-47 and then La Salle 60-29.
This team just has everything clicking right now, ranking in the top five in the conference in both points per game and points allowed per game and sitting in first in point differential. They will look to bring their road record to an unbelievable 14-0 this week when they travel to Virginia for a crucial matchup against VCU.