Women's Basketball Faces St. Bonaventure in Opening Round of Atlantic 10 Championship

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The Rams have won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two squads.

Whitney Hollis and the Rams take on St. Bonaventure in the opening round of the 2008 A-10 tournament

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RHODE ISLAND IN THE ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT
Rhode Island faces St. Bonaventure in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship, Friday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m. It marks the 26th consecutive season the Rams have participated in the league's post-season tournament, dating back to the inaugural championship in 1983. Rhody is 11-26 (.297) all time at the A-10 Championship. Last season, URI was the #12 seed and suffered a 68-52 loss to Saint Joseph's in the opening round. The Rams' last A-10 tournament win was a 69-49 victory over Dayton on March 5, 2004. In that game, now assistant coach Denise King recorded nine points, four assists and three steals for URI.

RHODE ISLAND VS. ST. BONAVENTURE

The Rams are 22-19 all-time against the Bonnies, having won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, including a 56-48 victory earlier this season (Jan. 19) at the Ryan Center. Rhody is 1-0 all-time when facing the Bonnies on neutral courts, 14-6 at home and 7-13 at St. Bonaventure, N.Y.

MORE ON THE RAMS AND BONNIES IN THE POSTSEASON

Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure have met just once in the history of the Atlantic 10 Championship - in a quarterfinal matchup on March 10, 1994. Ironically, that game was also played at the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia and - in a convincing 120-62 defeat of the Bonnies - Rhode Island set the A-10 Championship scoring record.

URI/SBU VS. COMMON OPPONENTS THIS SEASON

Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure have played 14 common opponents this season. Against common teams, the Rams are 5-10 while the Bonnies are 8-7.

SCOUTING THE BONNIES

St. Bonaventure finished the regular season with an overall record of 18-11 and earned the #7 seed in the conference tournament after turning in a 6-8 league record. SBU faces the Rams after dropping back-to-back games to UMass and Temple. The Bonnies are 10-8 on the road this season and 8-3 at home. SBU is led by Dana Mitchell (18.2 ppg/6.4 rpg) and Andrea Doneth (7.5 ppg/3.4 apg/2.6 rpg).

RHODE ISLAND ALL-TIME

In 32 seasons of basketball, URI has posted a 373-549 mark (.405). The team's all-time record at the Ryan Center is 32-44 (.421). This season, the Rams are 6-8 on their home court and 6-9 on the road.

RHODE TO SUCCESS

For the Rams, there's not much to complain about concerning their draw in the A-10 Championship bracket as they face St. Bonaventure (who they defeated earlier this season) in the first round. Should URI advance, George Washington awaits in the quarterfinals. Rhody nearly upset the then-No. 13/13 Colonials on Jan. 16, falling 48-45 in the final minutes.

LAST TIME OUT - RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT JOSEPH'S

Crystal Bellinger recorded a team-high 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals as the Rhode Island women's basketball team fell to Saint Joseph's, 72-60, in the regular season finale for both teams. Saint Joe's took control of the game early on, outscoring Rhody 15-4 over the first six minutes and pushing their lead to 17 (28-11) with 7:21 to go in the first half. URI's LaQuanda Brandon hit a jumper to make the score 30-17 with four minutes left on the clock but that was as close as the Rams would get in the first frame as the Hawks led 36-21 at halftime. SJU took its largest advantage of the game (23 points) just four minutes into the second half but URI clawed its way back as a layup by Lindsay Harris capped a 28-16 push to get the Rams within 11 with 3:35 to go. That was as close as Rhody would get though, as Sarah Acker scored six of her game-high 19 points in the final three minutes, leading Saint Joseph's to the 72-60 win. For the game, Rhody shot 35.1% (26-74) while the Hawks finished 47.2% (25-53). URI held a slight rebounding advantage (43-42) and had just 14 turnovers compared to 18 by the Hawks.

TWO FOR ONE AT THREE

Safi Mojidi currently ranks second all-time at URI with 183 three-point field goals. Two more threes will send Mojidi past former Ram Dayna Smith who currently holds the top spot at Rhode Island with 184 trifectas.

NO REST FOR THE WEARY

Safi Mojidi has seen more playing time than any other Ram in school history. To date, the senior captain has logged 3,769 career minutes - nearly 400 more than former #1 Shayla Johnson (3,380 mins).

BENCH MARKS

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 all but two contests (Saint Louis and Temple) to date. URI's non-starters have tallied 20-or-more points eight times - in games against Sacred Heart (27), Siena (43), Holy Cross (22), Brown (41), Central Connecticut (22), Kent State (30), Canisius (31), Massachusetts (27), Dayton (24), La Salle (24), Duquesne (37) and Saint Joseph's (25).

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.

BUIZZER BEATERS

Safi Mojidi has scored the game-winning basket for Rhode Island three times this season. She first helped the Rams to a 56-55 win over Stony Brook by netting her shot with 13 seconds left in the game. The following afternoon, Mojidi hit a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to lead Rhody to a 50-47 victory over Lehigh. Most recently, Mojidi nailed the game-winning shot with three ticks left on the clock in URI's 57-55 win at Fordham.

HOMETOWN HERO

Megan Shoniker tallied a game-high 18 points while recording five rebounds and two assists in Rhody's loss at Canisius. 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.

CLOSE, BUT NO UPSET

Safi Mojidi scored a team-best 16 points and Tanja Licina recorded a season-high 11 rebounds as the Rhode Island women's basketball team fell to No. 13/13 George Washington, Jan. 16 at the Ryan Center. After GW jumped out to a 10-point lead (16-6), the URI defense held the Colonials scoreless until Sarah-Jo Lawrence was fouled with less than a second left on the clock. Lawrence sank both of her free throws, sending Rhode Island into the break with a 22-18 advantage. GW, which failed to connect from the field for the final 5:42 of the half, shot just 21.2% (7-33) and scored a season-low 18 first-half points. The second half featured seven lead changes with the Colonials taking a 44-43 advantage with 1:24 to go. After a turnover by Rhode Island, Lawrence hit a jump shot but the Rams countered with a driving layup by Bellinger that pulled URI within one (46-45) with 21.2 seconds left. The Colonials were able run down the clock, moving the ball around before Rhody fouled Kimberly Beck with 10.9 seconds remaining. Beck made both shots to secure the 48-45 victory.

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.

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.

MOJIDI NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Rhode Island senior guard Safi Mojidi was named Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Jan. 21, after averaging 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals in a 1-1 week for the Rams. Mojidi opened the week with a team-high 16 points (four 3-pointers) to go along with a game-high four steals as URI nearly pulled off an upset victory over No. 13/13 George Washington. The Rams held the Colonials to just 18 first-half points (a season-low for GW) before falling in the final minutes, 48-45. Three days later against St. Bonaventure, Mojidi tallied a season-high 30 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line while adding six rebounds, two steals and just one turnover in 32 minutes on the floor. For Mojidi, the weekly A-10 award was the fifth of her career as she was named the league's Player of the Week once last season and earned three Rookie of the Week accolades in 2004-05.

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.

ACADEMIC HONORS

Andrea Buck, Lindsay Harris and Whitney Hollis were named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fall 2007 semester (in order to be recognized, student-athletes must have a semester grade point average of 3.5 or better). Additionally, these three - as well as Sierra Cooper and Tanja Licina - were honored at URI's 2007 Dean's List Reception, where all Rhode Island student-athletes on the Dean's List for the spring or fall (2007) semester(s) were recognized.

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.

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 third all-time, after netting 15 at Charlotte. She currently has 1,588 career points, ranks fifth on the career field goals list (557), is third with 352 assists and is second all-time at URI with 183 three-pointers.

REJECTED

Whitney Hollis entered the season ranked tenth on the Rhode Island career blocks list. The senior center has recorded at least one block 18 times this season and is currently ranked third all-time at URI with 63 career rejections.

ATLANTIC 10 HONOR ROLL

Five different Rams have earned spots on the Atlantic 10 Weekly Honor Roll this season. Megan Shoniker (Dec. 3, Dec. 28, Jan. 7) and Safi Mojidi (Nov. 19, Nov. 26, Jan. 28) lead the team with three mentions each while Amanda McGrew has two (Dec. 3, Feb. 25) and Sierra Cooper (Dec. 24) and Crystal Bellinger (Feb. 11) were recognized once each.

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.

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.

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 COMPETES FOR HER NATIVE NIGERIA

Nigeria-native Safi Mojidi represented her nation at the 2007 FIBA African Championship, where the championship team earned a spot in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Mojidi helped the Nigerian team post victories over DR Congo (69-56) and Kenya (73-70) before the squad was defeated by Mozambique (69-61) in the quarterfinals.

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 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.

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.