The University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team won two games at home against La Salle University and Saint Joseph’s University, moving to 10-5 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
On Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center, the Rams celebrated senior day, Play4Kay and a 77-54 win over the Explorers. Fourth-year center Harsimran Kaur, fourth-year guard Sophie Phillips and third-year forward Hawa Komara were honored before the game. URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss pledged $100 for every made three-pointer to the Kay Yow Foundation, a non-profit organization that fundraises for all women battling cancer.
Rhody led for 19 of the first 20 minutes in a low-scoring first half, but their lead was never extended by more than six points. Kaur led the Rams in the half with eight points, as they went into halftime with a 24-20 lead.
The third quarter began with an ignited fire under URI, going on a 13-4 scoring run. Rhody had their best shooting from beyond the arc in the third frame, going 5-6. Halfway through the quarter, they had pushed their lead to 40-24.
Kaur had 13 of the team’s 33 points in the quarter, as URI headed into the final quarter with a 57-36 lead. URI added 20 points, including its seventh triple of the day, in the fourth quarter on its way to a comfortable victory.
Kaur led the team with a game-high 23 points, while her family was in the stands for the first time in her collegiate basketball career.
“It was really special for me, but I didn’t let that pressure get to me, and I just wanted to let the game come to me like [Reiss] always tells me,” Kaur said. “The whole credit [goes to] my team, I wouldn’t be anything without them.”
After having their eight-game win streak broken by the University of Richmond on Thursday, Feb. 13, third-place SJU paid URI a visit on Wednesday. The teams competed in a closely contested game that went down to the wire, ultimately resulting in a 70-65 win for Rhody.
Two three-pointers in transition by Phillips gave the Rams energy in the game’s first five minutes. Third-year forward Anaelle Dutat’s triple put Rhody ahead by two with 28 seconds left in the first frame. But, first-year guard Rhian Stokes responded with a last-second layup to tie it up 17-17.
URI’s five-point lead with 4:43 left in the half was quickly squashed by a Hawks 5-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from third-year forward Laura Ziegler. Rhody’s difference-maker was capitalizing on seven Hawks turnovers, but the second quarter once again concluded with the teams tied at 32-32.
The Hawks pushed their lead to seven, the largest of the night, but seven points from Kaur in the final 1:22 of the third quarter got Rhody within three heading into the last quarter. Kaur’s second consecutive 13-point third quarter saw her go 3-3 from beyond the arc.
After playing from behind since 5:59 in the third quarter, second-year guard Sophia Vital had the game-tying shot for Rhody to even things out at 59-59 halfway through the fourth quarter. Vital came up big for the Rams with back-to-back layups, giving URI a two-point lead with 1:03 to go.
A missed layup from Ziegler was rebounded by Kaur, who was fouled and extended the Rhody lead to four on two made free throws with 12 seconds remaining. URI’s defense controlled the game from there on out, knocking off the Hawks, who went 16.7% from the field in the fourth quarter.
“We knew tonight was gonna be a battle, and it came down to two things: discipline and toughness,” Reiss said. “When you end a game with three stops in a row, we call that a kill; that’s toughness, and that won us the game tonight. So kudos to our team, defensively, for executing the game plan.”
Rhody will head on a two-game road trip to close out February, starting with a game against the University of Massachusetts at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with a radio broadcast available on The Varsity Network.
