In their regular season finale, the University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team clipped the wings of the University of Dayton in a thorough 77-42 victory.
The Rams led the Flyers in the contest through all four quarters, a trend that branched off from the start of the game when Rhode Island started on a 13-0 run. After a 9-2 kickoff through the first four minutes versus Virginia Commonwealth University in the contest prior, adjustments were made heading into Ohio.
“We really focused on effort from [the] jump,” URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss said. “How we show up for games and make a conscious effort of taking it to every four minutes, so how we start the game, to the first media timeout… So we really broke the game down into little segments for them and to keep their focus to play for 40 minutes, and that was the key.”
40 minutes was the key value for the Rams, as the game was only tied at its 0-0 start. Once the sprint began for Rhody, their heads never turned and their drive never waivered. Simply by chopping up the game into four or five minute quadrants, the Rams went into the locker room with a 39-20 lead.
The domination continued in the second half when Rhode Island outscored Dayton 20-9 in the third quarter of play.
“I never looked at the scoreboard,” Reiss said. “I knew we had a lead but around the middle of the third quarter I kind of looked up and I was like ‘are we up thirty?’… [it was] a great game where we never relinquished the lead like that. Normally [in the] second half we are up 25 and we let it come right back down to 16.”
A key part of the win was sixth-year guard Dee Dee Davis, who led the Rams with 16 points and tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Davis is currently in the midst of a mid-season renaissance. Scoring in double digits in nine straight games, Davis averaged 16.7 points per game in that span, up from her previous season average of 8.9.
“I think Dee Dee was having a hard time at the point finding the rhythm of her scoring and shots,” Reiss said. “But when Teisha came out and we put her at the two, all of a sudden a light came on and she was like ‘I’m a scorer.’”
With the boost from Davis, the Rams were able to cruise their way into a 77-42 victory over Dayton. Up next for Rhode Island is the Atlantic 10 Tournament, which for the Rams, serves as a reset button from a roller coaster of an in-conference slate.
“[Postseason is] a fresh start,” Reiss said. “You definitely want to have some momentum. You obviously want to have a good team going into the postseason [so] that you know you have a good chance at winning. If you’re 3-26 you have a different outlook, but I think there are six or seven teams in the A-10… that have a really good chance at winning.”
With a new perspective compared to last year, Rhode Island is attacking the tournament from a different angle, as an underdog, according to Reiss. Mocking, in a way, the team that sent them home last season.
“If you look at Saint Louis [University] last year, they rolled into the tournament, they were hot, they had no pressure, no one picked them and they suddenly got a win and a second and they believed,” Reiss said. “So if you have the talent, you could win this tournament…we are kind of rolling in under the radar, there is no pressure, there is none. So our kids are loose, it’s a new season.”
The Rams begin their quest for the A-10 crown on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when they take on either Dayton or St. Bonaventure University. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.