Late game falters cause Rhode Island loss to Maine

Photo courtesy of Michaela Benford

Free throws were the Achilles’ heel for the Rams’ women’s basketball team as Rhody fell to Maine 57-53 on Wednesday night.

Shooting 55.6% from the stripe on the night, Rhody's percentage dropped significantly due to miscues at the line in the fourth quarter. The Rams went 1-5 on free throws in the final quarter, and as a result they were caught in a four point deficit with 14 seconds left in the game.

The Rams took all 14 seconds to throw up a final heave that resulted in a miss, giving the Black Bears the road win.

“Right now our free throw shooting is abysmal,” URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss said. “You cannot shoot in the 50’s, you cannot, you will not win many ball games.”

While the offensive performance was not the greatest for the Rams, a continued bright spot this season, Annaelle Dutat, continued on her reinvention from the field this season. Dutat has tallied double-digit points in the last three games, including 10 points tonight, and she has displayed scoring capabilities from both inside and outside.

“[Dutat] was a [power forward] last year, so to transition from a post to a guard is not easy,” Reiss said. “[Dutat] wasn’t the best shooter last year, so she has really worked on her jump shot.”

The work put into her jumpshot has been evident, especially from distance. After not attempting a single shot from beyond in her first two seasons in Kingston, Dutat has made 4-10 attempts in 2024-25, making her statistically a top-five three-point shooter on the squad. 

Dutat’s move to the slashing “three-guard” or small forward position is due to more depth in the front court as compared to last year. Transfer Harsimran “Honey” Kaur has owned the center position and developmental piece Hawa Komara has played more of Dutat’s former “four” position.

Both Kaur and Komara produced tonight, with Kaur leading the team with 11 points and Komara’s eight rebounds also leading the squad.

It was an emerging player making her debut though, who took some of the attention in the Ryan Center tonight. Palmire Mbu, who sat out the first three games due to NCAA eligibility guidelines, stepped onto the floor for the first time as a collegiate athlete and thrived.

Mbu came off the bench first and scored nine points, ranking third on the team and signifying another possible offensive option for a team who has struggled in terms of scoring this season. 

“[Mbu] is very aggressive,” Reiss said. “She had to sit a year, she’s coming off an injury, so she’s not played in a year… She’s a big body, who can get to the rim, who’s aggressive, she can get to the rim, she can also shoot the ball… we were really happy with the way she played.”

Even with the bright spots, the game still ended in a loss for Rhode Island, and the stat sheet revealed some glaring evidence as to why. Rhody turned the ball over 14 times as opposed to Maine’s 8, with several instances of travels that stopped offensive possessions short. 

“A lot of our [turnovers] are walks,” Reiss said. “I think we had four [travels] in the first half, [with] three off spin moves and Cia [Eklöf] had two where she just isn’t getting her pivot foot down.”

The Rams will hope to right the ship in the coming days before welcoming in a powerful 3-0 St. John’s team, possessing a +66 point differential early on in the season. The Rams and Red Storm tip-off at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ with audio broadcasts available on Varsity Network and RIU2.org.