Women's basketball continues winning ways over UMass

Photo courtesy of gorhody.com and Michaela Benford

While far from aesthetically pleasing, Rhode Island women’s basketball’s win over UMass on Sunday afternoon was just enough to keep their momentum churning as March fastly approaches the Rams.

The 42-40 win for Rhody was the lowest offensive output in a victory in program history, sneaking under a 43-41 win on Jan. 28, 2002, where the Rams coincidentally beat the Minutewomen in Amherst.

Following a near five-minute stretch of no scoring from either side to open up the game, UMass capitalized on a still dormant Rhode Island offense to collect a 6-0 lead. The Minutewomen led the Rams 8-6 after the first 10 minutes, and if it weren’t for a pair of three pointers from Rhode Island’s senior guard Sophie Phillips and junior forward Annaelle Dutat, Rhody would have left the first quarter scoreless.

Phillips and Dutat went on to lead the Rams in scoring through the rest of the game, with Phillips propelling the way with 12 points and Dutat following with 10 of her own.

Offense was much more prevalent on either side in the second quarter, with Rhode Island leading Massachusetts 14-13 in the period alone. Rhode Island controlled a lead late in the final minute of the half after Dutat sank a three-pointer. However, UMass junior forward Megan Olbrys converted a layup with two seconds left in the half to lead the Rams 21-20.

The second-half was still tight, but good defense from Rhode Island in the third quarter and final two minutes of the fourth allowed the Rams to escape the Mullins Center with their eighth win in 10 games.

The Minutewomen in the final two minutes of the game: 0-2 from the field with a turnover – not inspiring victory in the final three offensive possessions.

With their recent stretch of success, the Rams are now just a full game back from Davidson, vying for a double-bye in the Atlantic-10 tournament for the fourth time in five seasons

When it comes to Henrico, Rhode Island will surely want to improve their 6-6 record in A-10 tournaments under Tammi Reiss in two weeks. However, the Rams still have two games to play in regular season play before they make the trek down to the suburb of Richmond.

Next, Rhode Island hits the road for a midweek clash at Saint Louis on Wednesday night. The Rams and Billikens tip-off at 8 p.m. ET and the game can be streamed on ESPN+ with a radio broadcast available on the Varsity Network.