WATCH: Sophia Vital clinches win for Rhody, boosts Rams over Minutewomen

With the ballgame tied at 58 and the clock ticking down, the fate of the game laid in the hands of a player who had yet to tally a single point.

Rhode Island and UMass were rather inseparable until that point, with a back-and-forth affair keeping the conference rivals tight through all 40 minutes of play.

Sophomore guard Sophia Vital controlled the ball at the top of the arch before driving in towards the hoop and kissing the winning shot off the glass. The Minutewomen did not have enough time to drive down for a response, Rhode Island would hold on to win the game 60-58.

In addition to Vital’s clutch shot, several other Rams helped to put away their Atlantic 10 neighbor. Redshirt junior forward Hawa Komara and senior center Honey Kaur both produced double-doubles, both collecting 12 rebounds with Komara equaling that mark in points and Kaur tallying 16 of her own.

Senior guard Sophie Phillips also had a productive night, scoring a floor-high 20 points on 41.1% shooting from the field.

The Rams are back in action this Sunday when they host Loyola Chicago at 1:00 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ with a radio broadcast available on the Varsity Network.