The University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team showed this week that all it takes is four days in March to change the story of your season in the world of college basketball, making their first Atlantic 10 Championship game since 2003.
Rhode Island went 18-13 overall and 10-8 in conference play during the regular season which earned them the sixth seed and a first round bye in the Atlantic 10 tournament, after preseason polls predicted the Rams to finish first in the league. They started their journey in Henrico, Virginia with a second round matchup against 11th seeded University of Dayton. These two teams were very familiar with each other as the Rams defeated the Flyers 77-42 in the final game of the regular season just five days earlier.
Dayton came out of the gates looking for revenge as they went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-13 lead after one quarter. The game became a battle of defensive wits as the Rams held Dayton scoreless for almost four minutes in the second quarter to take a 30-25 lead. However, just as they did to close the opening quarter, the Flyers closed the half on another 6-0 run and were leading 31-30 heading to the locker room.
Throughout the third quarter, the Rams shot the ball much better from the floor, making over 50% of their shots. They got widespread contributions with six different players scoring in the quarter and held a slim 51-48 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
“[Dayton] coming out in zone kind of threw us off in the first half,” URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss said postgame. “I’m really proud of our team with the in-game adjustments we made and how they shared the ball, picked apart the zone and really found our rhythm.”
The Flyers continued to hang around, but URI extended their lead to double digits for the first time in the game when sixth-year guard Dee Dee Davis and fifth-year guard Teisha Hyman made a pair of threes to cap off a 8-0 run with five minutes left. From here, the Rams would use a strong defensive effort, forcing Dayton to miss their final seven field goal attempts to secure a 70-57 victory.
Davis shined in this one for the Rams with her second double-double of the season. She scored 23 points, including 15 in the second half, and brought in 11 rebounds.
“That doesn’t happen without my teammates, I can’t pass myself the ball and things of that nature,” Davis said. “They found me and I’m just so grateful to be playing with this group.”
Although it was much more hard fought than their previous matchup against the Flyers, URI had locked up their spot in the quarterfinals and looked ahead to a Friday night matchup against the three seed, Saint Joseph’s University. The Hawks went 26-4 in the regular season and won both matchups against Rhode Island, though both were decided by five or less points.
On the first possession of the game on Friday night, third-year guard Sophie Phillips made a shot from beyond the arc for the Rams which gave her sole possession of the program record for three pointers made in a single season (83).
This monumental moment set the tone for the team as a whole as they jumped out to an 18-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Along with Phillips, Reiss highlighted the spark that was provided by second-year guard Ines Debroise, who led the Rams with five points in the quarter.
“The way she started the game with her intensity and her fire, our team fed off that,” Reiss said postgame Friday. “Our leader at the point guard spot, she sets the tone.”
Saint Joseph’s fought back in the second quarter, led by their defensive intensity. For the second consecutive night, the Rams trailed by one possession heading into the locker room with SJU holding a 27-25 lead. Rhode Island struggled to get things going offensively in the second quarter as they were held to just 3-13 from the field and were outscored 17-7.
Early in the second half, it became a game of trading leads, with URI starting to find their groove on the offensive end. They made four of their first five field goal attempts including a three pointer from Davis which gave them a 34-31 lead, an advantage they would end up not relinquishing.
Heading into the final quarter, Rhode Island held a slim 42-37 lead, and this is when Davis would really take control of the game for the second straight night. She scored 11 of her 22 points in the fourth and went 7-10 from the free throw line in the final two minutes. Reiss detailed the kind of thought process that Davis has in these situations.
“Give me [Davis] the ball at the end of games, get out of my way, you’re going to win and lose with me,” Reiss said. “She’s got no fear and that’s the thing I love about her.”
Along with the play from Davis down the stretch, this game was defined by the strong defensive efforts from URI throughout. They held Saint Joseph’s to just 32% from the field on the game and 5-23 from beyond the arc. The Rams would also allow just five points in the final 6:30 on their way to locking up the 57-47 upset victory and a trip to the semifinals for the second straight year.
“We showed up with discipline and we showed up with physicality,” Reiss said. “They knew what it took to win this game and they did it for 40 minutes.”
This win would set up a semifinal matchup with seven seed Saint Louis University on Saturday afternoon. This was a familiar position for these teams as they also met in the A-10 semifinals a season ago when SLU got a 59-56 victory to knock out the Rams.
Rhode Island came out on Saturday looking like a team with revenge on their mind, going on an early 7-0 that stretched their lead to 15-9 with two minutes left in the opening quarter. The Billikens would respond and take a brief 16-15 lead early in the second quarter, but the Rams would take control of the first half from here.
URI shot 11-16 from the field throughout the second quarter on their way to a 39-23 lead heading into the locker room. It was domination in all aspects of the game for Rhode Island, holding SLU to 31% shooting and out-rebounding them 21-12. The depth of the team shined in the half with five different players scoring six or more points.
“We just all decided do we want it or not,” Hyman said postgame. “I really like our unity and how we came together.”
Fifth-year guard Kyla McMakin led a charge out of the locker room for the Billikens as she scored seven points in the opening minute of the half. This, combined with the fact that Saint Louis forced eight straight misses by the Rams, helped narrow the lead down to just two possessions. SLU continued to stay red hot from the field, shooting 8-11 in the third quarter, and had the lead down to 52-46 heading to the final quarter.
The Billikens continued to hang around down the stretch by taking advantage of their opportunities from the charity stripe, shooting 10-11 from the free throw line in the final quarter. After fourth-year forward Peyton Kennedy made a three point play with two minutes left, Saint Louis reduced their deficit to 62-60.
Unlike Saint Louis, Rhode Island experienced some struggles from the free throw line in the final quarter as they went 7-16. However, Davis stepped up and made a pair of free throws when it mattered most to extend their lead in the final minute. With some key defensive stops, forcing Saint Louis to miss seven of their last eight shots, the Rams would cap off a 68-62 win and clinch their ticket to the A-10 Championship game.
“We came up with some big stops,” Reiss said. “At the end of the game, [Davis] came up with those big rebounds and they had to foul and she’s one of our best free throw shooters.”
Along with Davis, who led the team in scoring for the third straight day with 16 points, Rhode Island got some key contributions from fourth-year forward Mayé Touré. Touré put together a double-double with 14 points on 7-11 shooting and 10 rebounds.
After three tightly-contested wins, Rhode Island now got ready for the conclusion of their story in Virginia where they would look to win their first A-10 Tournament in program history. Waiting for them in the championship was their toughest test yet, top-seeded University of Richmond, who lost just two conference games all year and defeated URI in both of their regular season meetings. All that mattered now was this one final matchup on Sunday afternoon with a trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament on the line.
“This is like what movies are made of,” Reiss said. “That underdog, they come together and they go for the championship.”
It was clear from the start on Sunday that Richmond wasn’t going to make the storybook ending easy for Rhode Island. The Spiders were swarming on defense, holding URI to 3-15 from the field in the opening quarter on their way to a 14-7 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Richmond also had their conference-leading offense on full display, led by fourth-year forward Addie Budnik and second-year forward Maggie Doogan. Doogan had eight points in the second quarter and Budnik knocked down four shots from beyond the arc in the opening half, including one in the waning seconds to extend their lead to 35-19 heading to the locker room. The Spiders shot 50% from the field in the first half compared to URI who shot just 25% and 2-12 from three.
“We had no pace in that first half,” Reiss said postgame Sunday. “We were doing a lot of hero ball, we call it, one-on-one contested [shots].”
The beginning of the second half was more of the same as the Rams missed their first five field goal attempts, leading to a 9-0 Richmond run which stretched the lead to 44-19. The defense for Rhode Island started to pick up in intensity when they held the Spiders to just four points in the final five minutes of the third quarter. The offensive struggles, however, couldn’t be figured out as they shot 4-19 in the quarter and trailed 50-31 entering the fourth.
The final quarter is when the aggressiveness of Rhode Island would really start to shine with eight offensive rebounds as they climbed their way back into the game. They used a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to 57-44 with five minutes left, and they got as close as 12 points when Hyman made a layup, part of her six points in the fourth quarter. It proved to be too little, too late, though, as Richmond held on down the stretch with a 65-51 win to clinch their first Atlantic 10 Tournament championship in program history.
Despite being unable to end it hoisting the trophy, it will still be a week to remember in the history of Rhode Island women’s basketball, marking their first A-10 Championship game appearance since 2003.
“In the end, they’ll [the players] be very proud of themselves when they look back,” Reiss said. “We fought, we were in the championship game and that’s what I’m most proud of about this team: their perseverance, their grit and their determination.”
Looking ahead, URI will now wait and see if they receive invitations to any postseason tournaments to continue their 2024 season, with selection Sunday under a week away.