2008 Woodie Awards
Women's basketball falls to West Virginia, tops Brown at annual URI Invitational
Kayla Panu
Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: Sports
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11/28/07 - Women's basketball falls to West Virginia, tops Brown at annual URI Invitational
At the championship game of the third annual University of Rhode Island Invitational, the women's basketball team was defeated by nationally ranked West Virginia University last Saturday, 80-47.
"I thought we played 10 minutes of decent basketball and 30 minutes of bad basketball," head coach Tom Garrick said. "[WVU] put us on our heels. They are physically gifted and our kids were a little overwhelmed."
WVU is the No. 16 ranked team in the country.
Senior Safi Mojidi was named to the URI Invitational All-Tournament Team. She scored a team-high 21 points and had four rebounds.
"She showed she had the fight in her," Garrick said about Mojidi's effort. "I'm not surprised [about her All-Tournament team honors]. She has been doing this for three years and we expect it from her."
URI was down 43-22 at halftime but the Rams stepped up after their break and came out with energy and intent Garrick said.
"The first part of the second half we got the crowd energized," he said.
They had an 18-5 run but could not hold on. WVU took the win after outscoring the Rams 30-7 with a final score of 80-47.
"Whenever there is a score like that it means someone has played very poorly and the team hasn't done a whole lot well," Garrick said. "That's what happened on Saturday. It was just one of those games you learn from and you want to forget as quickly as possible."
The West Virginia Mountaineers (5-1) shot 59.6 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Rams by a 36-22 margin. They were able to turn 25 of URI's turnovers into 35 points.
"We weren't covering the three-point line in the first half and it dictated the way the game went," Garrick said.
Olayinka Sanni of WVU had a game-high 22 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player.
URI red shirt junior Crystal Bellinger had a game-high six assists and scored seven points with three steals.
On Friday, the Rams, now with a record of 3-3, defeated Brown University, 61-55, to make it to the championships on Saturday.
"It was nice to get a split in the tournament," Garrick said. "Brown defeated us last year. The kids executed well down the stretch."
The team is playing at Central Connecticut University today at 7 p.m.
"We have to get back our home loss and get a win on the road," Garrick said. "It will be a tough game. We need to go out and execute."
All in all, the lady Rams are heading in the right direction, Garrick said.
At the championship game of the third annual University of Rhode Island Invitational, the women's basketball team was defeated by nationally ranked West Virginia University last Saturday, 80-47.
"I thought we played 10 minutes of decent basketball and 30 minutes of bad basketball," head coach Tom Garrick said. "[WVU] put us on our heels. They are physically gifted and our kids were a little overwhelmed."
WVU is the No. 16 ranked team in the country.
Senior Safi Mojidi was named to the URI Invitational All-Tournament Team. She scored a team-high 21 points and had four rebounds.
"She showed she had the fight in her," Garrick said about Mojidi's effort. "I'm not surprised [about her All-Tournament team honors]. She has been doing this for three years and we expect it from her."
URI was down 43-22 at halftime but the Rams stepped up after their break and came out with energy and intent Garrick said.
"The first part of the second half we got the crowd energized," he said.
They had an 18-5 run but could not hold on. WVU took the win after outscoring the Rams 30-7 with a final score of 80-47.
"Whenever there is a score like that it means someone has played very poorly and the team hasn't done a whole lot well," Garrick said. "That's what happened on Saturday. It was just one of those games you learn from and you want to forget as quickly as possible."
The West Virginia Mountaineers (5-1) shot 59.6 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Rams by a 36-22 margin. They were able to turn 25 of URI's turnovers into 35 points.
"We weren't covering the three-point line in the first half and it dictated the way the game went," Garrick said.
Olayinka Sanni of WVU had a game-high 22 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player.
URI red shirt junior Crystal Bellinger had a game-high six assists and scored seven points with three steals.
On Friday, the Rams, now with a record of 3-3, defeated Brown University, 61-55, to make it to the championships on Saturday.
"It was nice to get a split in the tournament," Garrick said. "Brown defeated us last year. The kids executed well down the stretch."
The team is playing at Central Connecticut University today at 7 p.m.
"We have to get back our home loss and get a win on the road," Garrick said. "It will be a tough game. We need to go out and execute."
All in all, the lady Rams are heading in the right direction, Garrick said.