Dec. 8, 2008
Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch Live thru Rhody All-Access | Live Audio
RHODE ISLAND VS. HOLY CROSS
Rhode Island takes on Holy Cross at the Ryan Center, Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. The game marks the ninth meeting between the two squads with Holy Cross holding a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series. Rhody's last win over the Crusaders came in the form of a 72-68 victory in Worcester on Dec. 7, 2005. The two teams last met at Holy Cross on Nov. 20, 2007. In that game, URI was defeated 65-56, despite Amanda McGrew's 13-point performance and a game-high 10 rebounds from Sierra Cooper.
RHODE ISLAND VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Rhode Island has turned in a 4-11 (.267) all-time record against Patriot League opponents, most recently suffering a 77-58 setback at American on Sunday, Dec. 7. The Rams are 1-0 all time against Lehigh, 1-1 against Army, 0-1 against American, 0-3 against Lafayette and 2-6 against Holy Cross.
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross is 1-7 so far this season and enters Tuesday's game looking to snap a three-game skid that includes losses to Western Illinois (64-55), Connecticut (96-37) and Vermont (71-53). The Crusaders' lone victory this season was a 94-93 overtime win against Missouri in the Mildred & Roger L. White Invitational in Evanston, Ill. Holy Cross is led by Brianna McFadden (16.8 ppg/2.8 apg), Bethany O'Dell (11.4 ppg/3.6 rpg) and Alyssa May (4.8 rpg/2.8 apg/1.6 spg).
RHODE ISLAND'S LAST TIME OUT
Janae Miller scored a team-high 13 points and Sierra Cooper added 12 as the Rhode Island women's basketball suffered a 77-58 setback, Sunday afternoon at American University. Cooper also recorded a team-best seven rebounds while Megan Shoniker - who fouled out with just under six minutes remaining in the game - led the squad with four assists and two steals in 17 minutes of action. URI outscored American 30-29 in the second half, but was unable to recover after the Eagles connected on 8-of-12 first-half attempts from long range to take a 20-point lead into the break.
RHODE ISLAND ALL-TIME
In 32 seasons of basketball, URI has posted a 373-545 mark (.406). The team's all-time record at the Ryan Center is 31-42 (.425). This season, the Rams are 1-3 on their home court and 2-2 on the road.
SHONIKER EARNS ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Megan Shoniker was named to the 2008 Rhody Classic all-tournament team after putting up back-to-back 17-point performances against Bryant and Central Connecticut. The Rhody sophomore combined to shoot 54.2% (13-24) from the field and led the team in scoring both days.
LICINA TIES, RAMS BREAK RYAN CENTER RECORD
Tanja Licina tied the best Ryan Center free throw performance when she went 11-for-11 from the line against Bryant. In that same game, the Rams combined to hit 27-of-34 foul shots, surpassing the previous single game high of 25 (vs. Temple, 2/26/06).
SEASON HIGHS AGAINST THE NATION'S BEST
Despite falling to No. 1/1 Connecticut, 91-43, the Rams turned in several season-bests against the top-ranked Huskies including 3-pointers made (eight), 3-point field goal percentage (.421, 8-for-19), assists (13) and blocked shots (three).
THREE RAMS EARN A-10 HONORS
Sierra Cooper and Lara Gaspar have been named to the Atlantic 10 Weekly Honor Roll twice each. Cooper earned the honor on Nov. 25 and Dec. 8 while Gaspar was recognized in back-to-back weeks (Dec. 1 and Dec. 8). Tanja Licina also landed a spot on the league's weekly honor roll on Dec. 1.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD
Tanja Licina currently leads the Atlantic 10 with a .944 (17-18) free throw percentage while Sierra Cooper ranks seventh with a .521 (38-73) field goal percentage. Cooper is also eighth in the league with 2.62 offensive rebounds per game and is 12th overall in rebounding (7.0 rpg).
BENCHMARKS
The Rams have had significant contributions from their bench this season as the Rhody reserves have combined for double-digit point totals in all but one game to date. URI's non-starters accounted for more than half of the teams' point total at No. 1/1 Connecticut (25 of 43) and Brown (43 of 75) while also recording double-figure totals against Bryant (25), Central Connecticut (22), American (17), Boston University (16) and Siena (13).
CeCe-ING DOUBLE
Sierra "CeCe" Cooper has tallied two double-doubles so far this season. Against Siena, the Rhody senior put up a game- and career-high 23 while leading the team with 12 boards. Two games later, she recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds at Brown. Cooper's now has three double-double performance for her career.
CASHING IN FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
After shooting just four throws in its season-opening loss to Boston University, URI had 23 attempts from the charity stripe against Siena. Thirteen of those attempts came from seniors Sierra Cooper and Amanda McGrew. Cooper was 7-7 from the line while McGrew was 6-6.
MORE FROM THE LINE
In her first trip to the line, Tanja Licina connected on 1-of-2 attempts at Siena. Since then, she has been flawless, sinking 16-consecutive attempts - including a Ryan Center record tying 11-for-11 performance against Bryant on Nov. 28.
OVERCOMING THE DEFICIT
The Rams overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to take down Bryant, 64-57, in Day One action at the 2008 Rhody Classic. It marked the second time this season that URI was trailing at the half but rallied back to take the victory.
RAMS RALLY FOR WIN AT SIENA
Trailing the Saints 35-32 at halftime, Rhode Island opened the second frame with a 20-7 run and never looked back, outlasting Siena 66-60 at the Times Union Center on Nov. 17. The Rams withstood a late Siena push that got the home team to within one (61-60) with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
GASPAR SHINES IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT
Freshman Lara Gaspar recorded nine points and three rebounds in her collegiate debut, Nov. 14 against Boston University. The 6-0 swing player saw 17 minutes of action and also registered a steal while accounting for over half of the 16 points from Rhody's bench.
UP NEXT FOR THE RAMS
After facing Holy Cross on Tuesday night, the Rams will be have 11 days off for exams. Rhody returns to action for a noontime tip-off at Sacred Heart on Dec. 20. Rhode Island is 2-0 all-time against the Pioneers. The last time the two teams met, Lindsay Harris dished out a career-high five assists as URI earned a 62-42 victory in last year's season-opener at the Ryan Center.
URI PICKED 11TH IN PRESEASON POLL
The Rhode Island women's basketball team was picked to finish 11th in the 2008-09 Atlantic 10 Conference race, according to a poll conducted by the A-10 head coaches and select media. Rhody finished the 2007-08 campaign with a 13-18 record (5-9 A-10) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
RHODY RETURNERS
The 2008-09 Rhode Island roster features six letterwinners who saw action in 30-or-more games last season, and eight returners overall. Four of the Rams' top-five scorers from last season are back. Amanda McGrew returns as the leading scorer while Sierra Cooper led last year's squad on the boards (5.5 rpg). Crystal Bellinger (7.4 ppg, 3.6 apg), Tanja Licina (5.8 ppg) and Lindsay Harris (2.8 ppg) round out Friday's probable starters while Megan Shoniker (4.1 ppg), Ebony Evans (1.2 ppg) and Aija Veiksane (1.8 ppg) all are entering their second season in Kingston.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Rams have added five newcomers as junior Caitlin Kearns - a transfer from Utah State - and freshman Chari Lehnertz - a three-sport athlete out of Winona, Minn. - will bring length to the frontcourt while junior Janae Miller, freshmen Sherrie Session and Lara Gaspar will add depth to the perimeter. Miller, a transfer from Central Arizona, averaged 9.86 points and 4.61 last season and helped lead her team to two league championships and back-to-back second place finishes at the junior college nationals. A native of Downey, Calif., Session averaged 17.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg at Valley Christian High School while Gaspar, who hails from Spa, Belgium, averaged 13.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg at South Forsyth (Ga.) High School.
RAMS IN 2007-08
Last season, the Rhode Island Rams turned in an overall record of 13-18 - a seven game improvement from 2006-07 (6-29). The Rams were 5-9 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, finishing tied (with Saint Louis) for 10th place. Rhody made its 26th-consecutive appearance in the A-10 Tournament, falling to No. 13 George Washington, 70-43, in the quarterfinals after defeating St. Bonaventure, 61-49, in the opening round of competition.
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
Charlotte was selected by Conference athletic directors to host the 2009 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship. The Championship, in its 27th season, will tip-off on Friday, March 6 and conclude on Monday, March 9. The top-12 teams in the league qualify for the tournament with four teams receiving first round byes. The quarterfinals will be played on March 7 and the two semifinal matchups will take place on Sunday, March 8 and will be televised by CBS College Sports. The Championship game will be played on Monday, March 9 with the winner receiving the league's automatic berth into the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. Xavier is back-to-back defending Atlantic 10 Champions.
