Rams Return to the Ryan Center Wednesday Night; Take on 13th-Ranked George Washington

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Rams looking for their first win over the Colonials since the 1995-96 season.

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RHODE ISLAND VS. GEORGE WASHINGTON

Rhode Island returns to the Ryan Center for its first home game of the New Year when it hosts No. 13 George Washington, Wednesday (Jan. 19) at 7:00 p.m. The Rams are 4-31 all-time against the Colonials, having earned their last win - a 74-70 victory - in Kingston on Feb. 25, 1996. Since then, GW has won 12-straight contests against URI. Rhody is 4-13 all-time when facing the Colonials at home and 0-18 in Washington, D.C.

URI/GW VS. COMMON OPPONENTS

Rhode Island and George Washington have played two common opponents this season. Against these teams, the Rams are 1-1 with a win over Brown (61-55) and a loss at Virginia (89-53). GW has turned in a 2-0 record in these games, having defeated Virginia, 70-68, and Brown, 98-22.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS

George Washington is 13-3 to date and comes to Kingston looking for its ninth-consecutive victory. The Colonials are 5-2 on the road this season and 8-1 at home. GW is led by four players who are averaging double-figures in the scoring column: Jessica Adair (16.9 ppg/6.0 rpg/1.2 bpg), Sarah-Jo Lawrence (14.1 ppg/4.8 rpg/1.8 spg), Kimberly Beck (12.2 ppg/6.3 apg/2.1 spg) and Antelia Parrish (11.9 ppg/8.2 rpg).

RHODE ISLAND ALL-TIME

In 32 seasons of basketball, URI has posted a 370-542 mark (.406). The team's all-time record at the Ryan Center is 30-39 (.435). This season, the Rams are 4-3 on their home court and 3-6 on the road.

LAST TIME OUT

Amanda McGrew tallied a team-high 12 points as the Rhode Island women's basketball team dropped a 91-53 decision to Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams, Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. The loss was URI's first in a conference-opener since the 2002-03 Rams opened the league schedule with a 64-51 defeat at Temple. Crystal Bellinger was the only other Ram to score in double figures, recording all 10 of her points in the second half.

UP NEXT FOR THE RAMS

After facing George Washington on Jan. 16, Rhode Island hosts St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. Rhody is 21-19 all time against the Bonnies, having won eight of the last nine meetings between the two teams.

DOUBLE VISION

Sierra Cooper recorded her first-career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds against Stony Brook on Dec. 29. It was the Rams' first double-double of the season.

HOMETOWN HERO

Megan Shoniker tallied a game-high 18 points while recording five rebounds and two assists in Rhody's loss at Canisius on Jan. 2. A native of nearby Rochester, N.Y., Shoniker wowed her hometown crowd with a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the arc, including sinking four-straight three-pointers in the second half.

MAKING WAVES AGAINST TULANE

Sierra Cooper turned in a career-best 17-point performance while Safi Mojidi pulled down eight boards to tie her career high rebounding total in URI's loss to Tulane. As a team, Rhode Island shot a season-best 47.4% from the field (27-58) against the Green Wave.

RAMS WIN CHRISTMAS CITY CLASSIC

The Rhode Island women's basketball team claimed the 11th Annual Christmas City Classic championship title with a 50-47 victory over host Lehigh, Sunday afternoon (Dec. 30) at Stabler Arena. Prior to defeating the host team, URI knocked off Stony Brook, 56-55, on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 29). Sierra Cooper was named the tournament MVP and Safi Mojidi was named to the All-Tournament team.

COOPER RECEIVES MVP AWARD

Sierra Cooper received the tournament MVP award at Lehigh's Christmas City Classic (Dec. 29-30). Cooper averaged 11.5 points and 10 rebounds at the tournament while recording her first-career double-double (13p, 14r) in URI's opening -day game against Stony Brook.

TWICE AS NICE

Junior forward Tanja Licina recorded her first - and second - career three-pointers in URI's win over Lehigh to take the Christmas City Classic. Additionally, Licina led the Rams with a team-high 12 points and 4 assists in the victory.

PERFECTION

Rhode Island was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line against Providence on Dec. 1. It marked the first time that the Rams have had a flawless free-throw percentage (three-or-more attempts) at the Ryan Center since going 12-for-12 from the line against Marquette on Dec. 11, 2004. Rhody also was a perfect 4-for-4 against Kent State on Dec. 22.

ATLANTIC 10 HONOR ROLL

Four different Rams have earned spots on the Atlantic 10 Weekly Honor Roll this season. Megan Shoniker (Dec. 3, Dec. 28, Jan. 7) leads the team with three mentions while Safi Mojidi (Nov. 19, Nov. 26) has been honored twice and Amanda McGrew (Dec. 3) and Sierra Cooper (Dec. 24) were recognized once each.

ONE FOR THE ROAD

URI earned its first road victory in the form of a 74-57 win over Central Connecticut in New Britain, Conn. on Nov. 28. The Rams battled back from a three-point halftime deficit and outscored the Blue Devils by a 41-21 margin in the second frame, denying CCSU of a win in its home-opener.

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA

The 2007-08 Rhode Island women's basketball schedule features three television games. Cox Sports will televise URI's games against Tulane (Dec. 5) and Xavier (Feb. 3) while CSTV will air the Rams Jan. 27th game against Temple.

A WIN FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR

The Rams picked up the program's 365th win all-time in the form of a 61-55 victory over Brown on Nov. 23. The game also marked the 900th contest in the history of URI women's basketball.

LUCKY NUMBER 60

Rhode Island is 5-2 when scoring 60-or-more points this season as the Rams recorded 62 points in their victory over Sacred Heart, 63 in the win over Siena, 61 to defeat Brown, 74 points against Central Connecticut and a season-high 76 against Kent State. Similarly, URI is undefeated (7-0) when allowing opponents fewer than 60 points this season.

MOJIDI A TWO-TIME ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMER

After averaging 11 points and four rebounds - and scoring the game-winning baskets against Stony Brook (with 13 seconds left in the game) and Lehigh (nine seconds remaining) to help URI capture the championship title - Safi Mojidi earned All-Tournament honors at Lehigh's Christmas City Classic. The senior guard also was named to the URI Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the Rams to a second-place finish in the third-annual Thanksgiving weekend classic. Mojidi paced the Rams with a 21-point performance in the championship game against the No. 16/17 West Virginia Mountaineers and had eight points, seven rebounds and a game-high four steals in URI's win over Brown in the first round of competition.

OFF THE BENCH

In each of their games so far this season, the Rams have had significant contributions from the bench as the Rhody reserves have combined for double-digit point totals in every contest to date. URI's non-starters have tallied 20-or-more points seven times - in games against Sacred Heart (27), Siena (43), Holy Cross (22), Brown (41), Central Connecticut (22), Kent State (30), Canisius (31) and Massachusetts (27).

BELLINGER SHINES AT BU

After recording two turnovers in seven minutes of action in the first half of URI's game at Boston University (Nov. 13), Crystal Bellinger returned from the break and led the Rams through the second frame with 14 points, four steals and three assists. All were career highs for the redshirt-junior transfer who was appearing in just her second game for Rhode Island.

RHODY OPENS WITH A WIN

URI opened the 2007-08 season with a 62-43 win over Sacred Heart, Nov. 9, at the Ryan Center. The win improved the Rams' record to 16-17 in season openers. Prior to defeating the Pioneers, Rhode Island had not won a season opener since posting a 75-58 win at Northeastern to start the 2004-05 season. In that game, Safi Mojidi made her first collegiate appearance, recorded a double-double (16 points, 10 steals) and played all 40 minutes. In last season's opening game, Rhode Island was paced by Tanja Licina's 10-point, 10-rebound performance, but fell to Virginia by a score of 69-56.

MOJIDI ON THE MOVE

Safi Mojidi entered her senior season ranked ninth all-time on the Rhode Island all-time scoring list. After a 23-point performance at Holy Cross, she passed former teammate Tanya Rhodes and took over the #8 spot. Mojidi most recently moved to fourth all-time, after netting 17 against Tulane. She currently has 1,416 career points, ranks fifth on the career field goals list (502) and is second all-time with 166 three-pointers.

REJECTED

Whitney Hollis entered the season ranked tenth on the Rhode Island career blocks list. After rejecting a shot against Holy Cross, Hollis picked up her 44th career block and moved into the #9 spot all-time. The senior center has recorded at least one block eight times this season, picking up her 47th and 48th career rejections (against Providence) to pass former teammate Tanya Rhodes and rank eighth all-time at URI. After swatting two shots at Canicius, Hollis moved into the #5 slot at URI with 51 career blocks.

RHODY DEBUTS

Four new Rams made their Rhode Island debuts in URI's 62-43 season-opening win over Sacred Heart. Redshirt junior guard Crystal Bellinger recorded seven points and four rebounds and earned the start in her first game in a URI uniform. Freshman guard Megan Shoniker registered two points and one rebound 11 minutes of action. Junior guard Aija Veiksane was 2-for-2 from three-point territory, recording six points overall in two minutes on the floor, while junior forward Ebony Evans grabbed a rebound in one minute of action.

MOJIDI EARNS PRESEASON HONORS

Senior guard Safi Mojidi was named to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team for the second-straight season after leading the Rams in field goals (158), threes (49), free throw percentage (.805, 95-118), points (460, 15.9 ppg), assists (109, 3.8 apg) and steals (58, 2.0 spg). Her assists total ranks fourth among all returning A-10 student-athletes. Mojidi scored in double figures in 22 of the teams' 29 games last season and recorded 30+ points three times. She also logged a team-leading 33.2 minutes per game.

URI PICKED 12TH IN PRESEASON POLL

The Rams were picked to finish 12th in the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 Conference race, according to a poll conducted by the A-10 head coaches and select media. Rhody finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 6-23 record (4-10 A-10) and finished tied for 11th in the conference standings.

RYAN CENTER RECORDS

The Rams reached several Ryan Center records in their Dec. 22 win over Kent State. Individually, Crystal Bellinger tied the assists record with eight helpers while, as a team, URI dished out a record-tying 25 assists. Rhody also netted a record-setting 10 three-pointers on a Ryan Center-best 33 attempts.

RHODY RETURNEES

The 2007-08 Rhode Island roster features seven letterwinners who saw action in 24 or more games last season, and nine returnees overall. Four of the Rams' top-five scorers from last season are back, led by preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection senior Safi Mojidi (15.9 ppg). Juniors Amanda McGrew (8.9 ppg), Tanja Licina (5.8 ppg) and Sierra Cooper (5.7 ppg) all return as well. McGrew finished her sophomore campaign second on the team with 42 three-pointers while Licina was second with a .733 free throw percentage (22-30) and Cooper lead last year's squad with 164 rebounds (5.7 per game).

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Rhody welcomes four newcomers to the lineup in 2007-08. Redshirt junior Crystal Bellinger will make her first appearance as a Ram, after sitting out last season as a transfer from Alabama. Freshman Megan Shoniker comes to URI from Rochester's Greece Arcadia, where she averaged 26.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. The Rams also have added two junior college transfers: Ebony Evans and Aija Veiksane. Last season at Miami Dade, Evans averaged 2.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg while Veiksane averaged 6.7 ppg and 1.6 rpg at Jefferson College.

ATLANTIC 10 FORMAT

The Atlantic 10 Conference consists of 14 member schools competing under one division. During the Conference schedule, each team will play one regular-season game against 12 of the Conference institutions and two regular-season games against one Conference institution designated as its travel partner (URI's travel partner is Massachusetts) for a total of 14 Conference games.

A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship will be hosted by Saint Joseph's University and played at the Hawks' Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia, Pa. First-round games will be played on March 7, followed by quarterfinals on March 8, semifinals on March 9 and the title game on March 10. The league's top 12 teams qualify for the tournament with the championship team receiving the conference's automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament.