The University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team fell to the top-seeded Atlantic 10 Conference team, the University of Richmond, on Sunday afternoon, but responded with a win against Duquesne University on Wednesday evening.
Traveling to Richmond, Virginia for a battle with the first-place Spiders, URI was unable to extend its three-game winning streak due to a strong effort by Richmond in the second half, falling 79-56.
URI’s top-three defense in the A-10 was able to keep things within reach at halftime with a 32-26 score, but the Spiders broke out with a 10-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half.
The Spiders’ leading scorer and fifth-highest scorer in the A-10, third-year Maggie Doogan, had a team-leading 17-point afternoon, shooting 7-12.
Despite a 17-9 lead for the Spiders after the first quarter, Rhody outscored Richmond 17-15 in the second quarter after URI’s defense held its opponent and sparked a 15-6 run. Third-year forward Hawa Komara led the Rams in scoring in the second quarter with six points.
Richmond took control of the third quarter, shooting 7-9 from the field and putting themselves up 57-39 ahead of the final frame.
Taking advantage of their momentum, the Spiders topped off the contest with 12 bench points to put the Rams away. Fourth-year center Harsimran “Honey” Kaur led URI with 14 points.
On Wednesday evening, the Rams headed back home after a two-game stretch away from the Ryan Center for a rematch with the top offense in the A-10, Duquesne, and earned a hard-fought 59-57 victory.
The teams met in Pittsburgh on Jan. 19, where the Rams fell 77-64. The Dukes strolled into URI on a four-game win streak, with each of those wins coming by ten or more points.
Third-year guard Anaelle Dutat got things started for the Rams, hitting a shot from behind the arc. From there on out, the first quarter saw the Rams and Dukes trade shots, with the Dukes going 5-8 from three.
Fourth-year guard and leading A-10 scorer Megan McConnell, who averages 18.6 points per game, led the Dukes with 22 points in the contest.
A neck-and-neck first quarter ended with a 17-16 lead for the Dukes. But the Rams, specifically second-year guard Sophia Vital, came to play in the second quarter. Vital had 10 points and went 2-3 from three-point range.
Four turnovers in five minutes contributed to a scoring drought for the Dukes, prompting the Rams to take advantage and outscore their opponent in the quarter 16-11.
After only seven points in the first half, McConnell turned things on to begin the third quarter, scoring seven points and sparking an aggressive-looking Dukes’ offense that had 10 points in the paint.
Vital added four points to her tally in the quarter and first-year forward Palmire Mbu had six, resulting in a 44-44 tie as both teams headed into the final 10 minutes.
McConnell continued her dominant play in the paint, notching eight points and going 2-4 from the free-throw line.
Despite the Dukes drawing fouls by driving to the basket and entering the bonus, the score remained tight. Both teams fought for every possession down to the final minutes.
Vital hit her most crucial three-pointer of the night with 1:30 remaining to put the Rams up 58-54. First-year guard Nadia Moore responded with a three of her own for the Dukes to cut the lead to one.
With clean defense and a made free throw by Kaur, Rhody’s defense came up big in the final minute of play.
In dramatic fashion, the game was declared to be over by the referees on a clock error. The 57-point showing marked Duquesne’s lowest scoring game of the season.
“When they said the game was over, I was a little bit surprised, but I’ll take it,” URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss said.
Vital finished with a career-high 20 points in the win.
“They did the same thing to me last game,” Vital said. “They just sat in the paint and let me take shots and I kind of expected them to do that this game, so I worked on it.”
The Rams take on the University of Dayton, who they are tied with in the A-10 standings, on Saturday, at 1 p.m. in the Ryan Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with a radio broadcast available on WRIU and The Varsity Network.