The University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team opened its nonconference slate with a 68-64 loss to No. 24 West Virginia University on Tuesday.
Traveling to Morgantown, West Virginia, the Rams entered the game with a 7-17 record all-time against the Mountaineers, including a 1-9 record on the road at the Hope Coliseum.
Rhode Island started efficiently from the field, scoring 8 straight points to lead 16-10 heading into the first media timeout. Fourth-year guard Sophia Vital dished out a team-high five first-quarter assists, contributing to URI’s 10 total assists on 10 made field goals.
A 3-pointer from first-year guard Alex Newson extended the lead to a high of 7 points in the first quarter, but a 4-0 run late in the period brought West Virginia to a one-score game at 24-22.
The Rams’ shooting did not carry over into the second quarter, going just 1 of 9 from the field throughout the entirety of the period.
A 6-point quarter from URI and a combined 9 points from second-year guard Nylah Wilson and fourth-year center Khyala Ngodu allowed the Mountaineers to build a 9-point lead going into halftime, 39-30.
West Virginia stayed hot to start the second half, extending its lead to 14 in the first few minutes of the third quarter.
Third-year guard Delanie Hill, one of four new University at Albany transfers, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to 10 and finished with a team-high 26 points.
Six costly turnovers from Rhode Island saw the deficit grow to 12 points, 52-40.
After putting up a combined 16 points through two quarters, the Rams’ shooting had officially gone cold until the start of the fourth.
West Virginia’s leading scorer, fifth-year Gia Cooke, kicked off the final quarter with a 3-pointer to grow the Mountaineers’ lead to a game-high 17 points.
URI fought back with a 10-0 run late in the quarter, courtesy of clutch shooting from Hill and Vital, to cut the lead to 60-53 with under three minutes to play.
Cooke drained her third 3-pointer of the game to go along with a game-high 28 points to put WVU back up by 10.
URI made a few shots late to cut the deficit to single digits, but fell short.
“I’m so proud of this team,” URI head coach Colleen Mullen said. “We showed so much resilience, and we knew we were not going to quit today, no matter what.”
Getting outrebounded and giving up 20 turnovers was something that was expected heading into the match.
“We knew they were going to turn us over with the style of play that they have,” Mullen said. “It was just so fun to see such a balanced effort, but we knew it was going to start with our defense and rebounding. When we gave up those offensive rebounds, that’s where we really struggled.”
URI’s lack of size is a primary focus heading into Friday’s game against Columbia University.
“They have a lot of size at every position,” Mullen said. “Columbia is so talented, bringing back a core group, adding a really talented transfer from Stanford [University], and then, of course, [fourth-year] Riley Weiss for the player of the year in the Ivy League.”
