2008 Woodie Awards
Women's basketball rallies to take down Central Connecticut State, 74-57
Kayla Panu
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
11/30/07 - After a disastrous loss last weekend, the University of Rhode Island women's basketball team came together to defeat Central Connecticut State University on Wednesday night, 74-57.
"It's always nice to win," head coach Tom Garrick said. "But more importantly, we showed a lot of character."
The pivotal point of the game was the second half for the lady Rams.
"The beginning of the second half we outscored them," Garrick said. "We used our defense and transition game."
The Rams were the first to put points on the board during the contest, only to have the Blue Devils match every shot. The lead kept going back and forth between the two teams, but the Blue Devils were able to pull away with a 36-33 lead into the half.
"During halftime we talked about [how] we weren't playing the right type of basketball," Garrick said. "We wanted [the Rams] to stay relaxed."
He added that the team was missing shots and wasn't doing what it had been doing offensively in the past.
After its pep talk, the lady Rams came out swinging. They had a 21-9 run in the first 13 minutes of play to take the lead 64-45.
A major part of the second half run was senior Whitney Hollis, Garrick said. She was one of four URI players to have double digit points. She scored 11 points along with freshman Megan Shoniker. It was a career-high for Shoniker, and she was also 3-for-4 from outside the arc.
Senior Safi Mojidi scored 13 points, while junior Amanda McGrew had a game-high 15 points with five steals.
"Our guard play was important," Garrick said. "Our shooting percentage has improved and is a step in the right direction. We are closer to 43 percent. It was a team effort and it makes you really tough to defend. I'm really happy with the diversity in scoring."
URI dominated the second half completely, with the lead always in its possession. The Rams won 74-57 in Detrick Gymnasium at the Blue Devils' home opener to take a 4-3 record.
According to Garrick, his team executed their man-to-man defense well and they contained penetration. "We need to work on rebounding," he said. "We need to be more physical and not wait under the net for the ball to come. We need to put a body on people."
In the end, the lady Rams out-rebounded the Blue Devils 42-34. The team also incurred 23 turnovers, while only giving up 16 of its own.
On Saturday, the Rams are hosting another in-state rival, Providence College, at 3 p.m.
"It will be a tough game," Garrick said. "PC is a very physical team, and we just faced another tough and physical team with West Virginia. I'm very excited to see what we've learned. We need to get mature in the next few days, and we need to be ready to match PC's intensity and physicality."
"It's always nice to win," head coach Tom Garrick said. "But more importantly, we showed a lot of character."
The pivotal point of the game was the second half for the lady Rams.
"The beginning of the second half we outscored them," Garrick said. "We used our defense and transition game."
The Rams were the first to put points on the board during the contest, only to have the Blue Devils match every shot. The lead kept going back and forth between the two teams, but the Blue Devils were able to pull away with a 36-33 lead into the half.
"During halftime we talked about [how] we weren't playing the right type of basketball," Garrick said. "We wanted [the Rams] to stay relaxed."
He added that the team was missing shots and wasn't doing what it had been doing offensively in the past.
After its pep talk, the lady Rams came out swinging. They had a 21-9 run in the first 13 minutes of play to take the lead 64-45.
A major part of the second half run was senior Whitney Hollis, Garrick said. She was one of four URI players to have double digit points. She scored 11 points along with freshman Megan Shoniker. It was a career-high for Shoniker, and she was also 3-for-4 from outside the arc.
Senior Safi Mojidi scored 13 points, while junior Amanda McGrew had a game-high 15 points with five steals.
"Our guard play was important," Garrick said. "Our shooting percentage has improved and is a step in the right direction. We are closer to 43 percent. It was a team effort and it makes you really tough to defend. I'm really happy with the diversity in scoring."
URI dominated the second half completely, with the lead always in its possession. The Rams won 74-57 in Detrick Gymnasium at the Blue Devils' home opener to take a 4-3 record.
According to Garrick, his team executed their man-to-man defense well and they contained penetration. "We need to work on rebounding," he said. "We need to be more physical and not wait under the net for the ball to come. We need to put a body on people."
In the end, the lady Rams out-rebounded the Blue Devils 42-34. The team also incurred 23 turnovers, while only giving up 16 of its own.
On Saturday, the Rams are hosting another in-state rival, Providence College, at 3 p.m.
"It will be a tough game," Garrick said. "PC is a very physical team, and we just faced another tough and physical team with West Virginia. I'm very excited to see what we've learned. We need to get mature in the next few days, and we need to be ready to match PC's intensity and physicality."