Rams fall short of Hawkeyes in potential top-25 upset

Photo courtesy of Alan Hubbard

A “statement loss,” is not a term widely used in the realm of sports, but it would be fitting to describe the Rhode Island Rams’ 69-62 loss to Iowa on Thanksgiving Day.

The Rams entered the contest seeking their second-ever top-25 victory, after upsetting Princeton in the Ryan Center back on Dec. 3, 2023, beating the Tigers 60-58. However, the Hawkeyes used a big second half to their advantage to avoid being the second nationally ranked team to be taken down by URI.

The Rams had chances to complete the storybook victory, and good chances at that. Rhode Island led Iowa 26-25 after the first half, buoyed by an 11-6 advantage in the second quarter, the Rams’ best performing quarter throughout the young season. 

Rhode Island, after Thursday’s clash with Iowa, own a 49-point advantage in the second quarter. While that streak held strong against the Hawkeyes, another trend that has plagued the Rams this season stuck with them as well.

The fourth quarter has not been friendly to Rhode Island this season, with the Rams trailing by 13 points in the final quadrant this year. Rhody trailed by seven points in the fourth on Thursday night, with a seven-minute scoring drought opening the door for Iowa to run away with the contest.

While the undefeated Hawkeyes walked away with an extra tally in the left column, Rhode Island still displayed strengths that spoke volumes to the growth of the Rams as a team. 

“Obviously Iowa is a very very good team, they have been to Final Fours, they have been to national championship games,” URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss said. “But we got better today, and that is all we asked our kids to do. Prepare to win, compete to win and play together, and that is what they did.”

One of the main strengths uncovered was the defense for the Rams, who held a potent Iowa offense to under 70 points. Iowa entered the game averaging over 80 points per game but due to 22 forced turnovers from the Rams, the Hawkeyes were never truly able to take flight.

“[Forcing turnovers] is really what kept us in the game,” Reiss said. “Really not letting them just run that beautiful offense, pound the ball in the paint and go to work. So [I’m] really proud of our defensive effort today and I really thought that kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win.”

Offense was also a strength for Rhody on the day, mainly coming from their starting center, fourth-year Honey Kaur. Posting a floor-high 21 points, Kaur expanded her prototypical post presence to the perimeter, making a game-high four three pointers. 

Kaur, Reiss and the rest of the Rams hope to end up on the right side of things tomorrow, when they take on Idaho State on a tight turnaround. The Bengals also lost their first game of the tournament, falling to Vermont 64-44 this afternoon. The game tips-off at 2 p.m. tomorrow and can be streamed on FloCollege and listened to on The Varsity Network.