Women's basketball still can't ditch losing streak

03/05/09 - The University of Rhode Island women's basketball team ended its 2008-09 campaign with a loss to Duquesne University, 71-54. The loss marked the ninth straight defeat for the Rams, who barely snuck into the Atlantic 10 Tournament as the No. 12 seed.The Rams were paced by junior guard Lindsay Harris and sophomore guard Megan Shoniker, who each contributed 11 points. Rhode Island's backcourt duo was not nearly enough, however, as the Dukes were led by sophomore forward Samantha Pollino, who had more points than Harris and Shoniker combined, netting a game-high 23.

"Pollino's a very aggressive kid," head coach Tom Garrick said. "We let her get too deep and too close to the basket and that's where we have our defensive deficiencies. We covered one hole but we had a leak somewhere else."

Pollino sparked a 13-6 run for Duquesne, scoring eight points in the first eight minutes on just five shots from the field. Things didn't get any easier for Rhody, as the Dukes emerged for a 10-2 run during the next four minutes of play, jumping out to a commanding 23-8 lead.

The run was snapped when a layup from senior forward Sierra Cooper brought the Rams to within 13, at 23-10. Cooper finished the game with eight points, nine rebounds and two assists.

"She's done a great job for us all season," Garrick said, "but I thought she struggled a little in the first half. I thought she had some pretty good looks but they just didn't go down. We've been trying to put her in a position to be more successful because we need her to score."

The Rams continued to battle over the final 7:20 of play, but the Dukes were able to outscore Rhode Island by one point in that span, and entered the break with a 14 point advantage, at 36-22.

Rhode Island held its own over the first 4:17 of the second period, but was again outscored by one point in that span, and the Rams found themselves now trailing by 15, at 44-29. A jumper from Cooper with 15:01 remaining sparked a 10-6 run for the Rams, cutting the deficit down to 11, at 50-39, but Rhody was unable to get any closer than that.

For the game, Rhode Island committed one more turnover than the Dukes did, marking the first game since Dec. 22nd that the Rams had forced less turnovers than did their opponent. In addition, Rhody compiled a season-high seven blocked shots, led by junior forward Caitlin Kearn's two rejections.

"It's unknown," Garrick said when asked of his team's true potential. "We're right on the cusp and I think we can be really good. We've been close enough to the top level teams but we just need to find a little bit more offense."

After a pair of free-throws from Duquesne's junior guard Keri Pryor ended Rhode Island's 10-6 push, the Dukes proceeded to finish the game on a 21-15 run, putting the Rams away with a 71-54 victory.

Rhode Island finished its season 9-20 overall, but its 2-12 record in the A-10 Conference was good enough to earn the Rams a spot in the Conference Tournament. Rhody earned the No. 12 seed and will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for a matchup against the No. 5 seeded George Washington University this Friday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m.

"We're right there," Garrick said, "but a loss is a loss and there's no moral victories. That's what's been my biggest challenge, [it] has been keeping the kid's confidence level up. We've been trying to keep a positive atmosphere and we're looking forward to going down to Charlotte and hopefully shocking some people in our conference.