Nov. 23, 2007

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - Junior Amanda McGrew (Santa Monica, Calif.) grabbed eight rebounds and tallied a game-high 15 points and five assists to lead the Rhode Island women's basketball team to a 61-55 win over in-state rival Brown in the second game of the URI Invitational, Friday afternoon. With the win, the Rams advance to tomorrow afternoon's championship game, where they will face No. 16/17 West Virginia at 2 p.m.

Rhody jumped out to a 12-4 lead over the first four minutes as McGrew capped off an early run by draining a three just seconds after entering the game. The Bears clawed their way back though, tying the score at 15-15 with just over 12 minutes left in the half.

URI used a pair of buckets by junior Sierra Cooper (Blairs, Va.) and a 7-3 run to regain the lead (22-18) with eight minutes to go but Brown outscored Rhode Island, 13-6, down the stretch and headed into halftime with a 31-28 advantage.

After the break, senior Whitney Hollis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored the first points of the half, bringing URI to within one (31-30) with 19:20 to go but Brown stretched its lead to 40-30 with nine straight points for its largest lead of the game.

The Rams then used a 14-5 run over the next nine minutes to get back in the game and took a 45-44 lead on a three-point field goal by freshman Megan Shoniker (Rochester, N.Y.). It was all URI from there as Rhody took its largest lead of the half (seven points) with 1:41 to go and never looked back, hanging on for the 61-55 victory.

Rhode Island had three players put up double-digit point totals as McGrew finished with 15, Cooper had 12 and Hollis scored 10. Cooper nearly recorded a double-double, pulling down a game-high nine boards in 18 minutes on the floor while redshirt junior Crystal Bellinger (New York, N.Y.) dished out five assists and senior Safi Mojidi (Silver Spring, Md.) had a game-high four steals.

As a team, URI recorded 13 steals and six blocks. The Rams also out-rebounded the Bears by a 46-35 margin.

With the win, the Rhody improves to 3-2 this season and remains undefeated at the Ryan Center. The loss drops Brown to 0-5.

Rhode Island returns to action tomorrow afternoon - in the championship game of the URI Invitational - against No. 16/17 West Virginia at 2 p.m., following the noontime consolation game between American and Brown.

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• Head Coach: Cathy Inglese

• Assistant Coach: Ashley Earley

• Assistant Coach: Amber Jacobs

• Assistant Coach: Megan Lanham

• Dir. of Basketball Ops.: Steve Wallace

• Video Coordinator: Renee Lavoie

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