The University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team opened conference play on Wednesday with a road win over Saint Joseph’s University, never trailing in a 59-52 victory.
“You never want to see St. Joe’s first [in conference play] at Hawk Hill,” Rhode Island Head Coach Tammi Reiss said. “We’ve had the best wars with them. I love our games with them; I’ve got like five more gray hairs… Really, really key victory for us.”
Saint Joseph’s felt the absence of its leading scorer, third-year guard Gabby Casey, as the Hawks struggled to score throughout the first half.
Rhode Island scored the game’s first eight points, forcing five missed field goals and two turnovers from the Hawks in the stretch.
SJU stopped the bleeding after nearly five minutes with an and-one layup from second-year guard Jill Jekot. Second-year forward Cecilia Kay tied the game at 10 for the Hawks in the first quarter to finish a 10-2 run.
Fourth-year guard Ines Debroise put the Rams back ahead with an and-one before fellow fourth-year guard Brooklyn Gray finished the quarter with a three-pointer to give URI a 16-12 lead. Debroise and Gray led Rhody with seven and five points in the frame, respectively.
The second quarter was all Rhode Island, keeping the Hawks to 3-13 from the field. While holding Saint Joseph’s scoreless for over six minutes, the Rams went on a nine-point run to take a 14-point lead.
Fifth-year guard Kaylie Griffin got SJU back in the scoring column to finish the first half trailing 30-18. Second-year guard Rhian Stokes carried the momentum out of halftime, scoring the first four points for the Hawks.
Stokes was perfect from the free-throw line later in the quarter on a three-point foul as the Hawks stayed within a single-digit deficit of the Rams for the remainder of the game.
The Hawks scored the final three points of the third quarter to head into the final frame trailing by four points after outscoring the Rams by eight in a 21-point quarter.
In a closely contested fourth quarter, Kay evened the action again with 4:14 to go for her final score of the night to finish with 13 points.
Rhody responded with an 11-4 run to pull away. Second-year forward Palmire Mbu delivered the dagger three-pointer to put the Rams up by seven with 34 seconds to play.
“Really, really, really, really proud of our squad today,” Reiss said. “It was almost a simulation of [the] Princeton [University game] all over again… This time, the last four-minute execution was excellent, both defensively and offensively.”
Mbu finished her night with a pair of free throws to give her an even 20 points to go with four blocks on the defensive side of the floor, recording game highs in both categories.
“Our players made some huge shots,” Reiss said. “Palmire and Brooklyn really, really executed down the stretch.”
The Rams competed on the glass for 12 offensive rebounds, creating 10 second-chance points in a hard-fought victory.
“We ended up winning the rebounding margin, which was the key to the victory,” Reiss said. “It’s a roller coaster some days, but today they really, really executed down the stretch, and as a coaching staff, we are so very proud of them.”
With the win, URI moved to 7-2 on the year, its best start since the 2022-23 season. The Rams return to their nonconference slate, staying on the road on Sunday to face the University of Maine.
“You never want to see a conference opponent Dec. 3, but I’ll take this,” Reiss said. “Now we get right back in the mentality of nonconference. We’re going to enjoy this one for a night, and then we’re going to prep for Maine.”
The matchup is set to tip off at 1 p.m.; it will be broadcast on NESN and ESPN+ and available on the radio on The Varsity Network.
