Phillips twins face off as women's basketball struggle in road loss to Albany

Offensive struggles and rebounding troubles plagued the Rhode Island’s women’s basketball team on Friday night, as the Rams fell to Albany 67-57.

The lack of depth was the main concern for Rhode Island coming into this season, who lost key scorers like Dee Dee Davis, Mayé Touré and Teisha Hyman over the summer. That lack of depth became apparent in game two of the season, as the Rams were only able to produce 16 points off the bench.

“I wasn’t happy with our pace at all today,” URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss said. “We didn’t really start playing well until the second half. I thought we looked slow and lethargic, and [there was] really no pace to our sets whatsoever.”

The Rams have now lost their first road game of the season in three straight years, falling to Harvard in 2022 and Maine in 2023. Like last year’s contest against the Black Bears, Rhody’s sluggish offense marked their demise.

Rhode Island’s more prototypical scorers were not as productive as they have been in the past. Sophie Phillips, Rhody’s most potent shooter, came up empty from the field, going 0-7 from the floor and 0-6 from distance.

Phillips, who was headline going into the contest, played her twin sister Lily for the first time in their collegiate careers. It was the Great Danes’ Phillips who won the battle, scoring 10 points in the Albany win.

Sophie is from the Albany area, as her home town of Greenwich, New York, sits just 36 miles north of the capitol city.

“I’m really thankful for my coaches to be able to have gotten this game,” Sophie said. “It just meant a lot for me, being able to come back to get basically a home game which I haven’t had in my career yet… to have it be against my sister is even more special.”

Rather than the usual suspects producing on offense, two players known for their defense led the point scoring: Annaelle Dutat and Hawa Komara.

Dutat’s 13 points tied her career-high and Komara’s nine came just one short of the career-high she set in the home opener against Stonehill. This display of offensive irregularity served as the lone bright spot in the loss.

Komara came just two rebounds shy of her second double-double of the season, the Rams left the contest with nobody collecting a pair of double-digit stat categories. Albany had the lone player on the floor that accomplished the feat: Kayla Cooper.

Cooper’s 17 points and 14 rebounds led the Great Danes in both categories and contributed heavily towards the victory. Her performance helped give Albany a 3-1 lead all-time in clashes with the Rams.

Phillips, Reiss and the rest of the Rams will return to the hardwood on Sunday when they travel to Le Moyne, taking on the second-year Division I program for the second-time in program history. The game tips off at noon, and can be streamed on NEC Front Row.