Spring Break
Women's basketball drops fifth straight
Matt Swiss
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: Sports
02/18/09 - The University of Rhode Island women's basketball team dropped its fifth straight game Saturday afternoon after falling to Richmond University, 59-54.
Despite the five-game skid, Rhode Island has lost by more than eight points only once in that span, and head coach Tom Garrick said he feels his squad is playing better and better with each loss.
"I feel confident that we're going in the right direction," he said. "[George Washington University] and [St. Bonaventure University] are two of the top three teams in our league. Richmond is always talented and they're in the upper half of our league, too."
The Rams (9-16, 2-8 A-10) were paced by junior guard Lindsay Harris, sophomore guard Megan Shoniker and senior guard Crystal Bellinger who all posted double-figures, scoring 14, 14 and 10 respectively. Shoniker led all players, dishing out seven helpers, and Bellinger contributed a team-high four rebounds.
"I thought we did what we could offensively," Garrick said. "I thought we were getting where we needed to get to, but they're just a bigger and more athletic team. We just needed to get a couple more defensive rebounds."
The Spiders, who were led by sophomore forward Crystal Goring, out-rebounded Rhode Island 42-21, including a 17-8 advantage on the offensive side of the glass. Goring, who entered the game averaging only six points and seven rebounds per game, finished with a career-high 24 points and 15 rebounds.
"She had a great game," Garrick said. "She's 6-foot, 3-inches, long and very athletic. She's a horse and we don't have anybody quite that size. Caitlin [Kearns] got into foul trouble, but I thought she did a commendable job on the block. It really was just one of those situations when her physicality won out."
Goring and senior guard Johanna McKnight jump-started the Spiders to an early 9-0 advantage before a three-pointer from Bellinger sparked an 11-2 run by the Rams to knot the score up at 11. Neither team was able to pull away by more than five points throughout the remainder of the first half and the Rams entered the break trailing 31-30.
Despite the five-game skid, Rhode Island has lost by more than eight points only once in that span, and head coach Tom Garrick said he feels his squad is playing better and better with each loss.
"I feel confident that we're going in the right direction," he said. "[George Washington University] and [St. Bonaventure University] are two of the top three teams in our league. Richmond is always talented and they're in the upper half of our league, too."
The Rams (9-16, 2-8 A-10) were paced by junior guard Lindsay Harris, sophomore guard Megan Shoniker and senior guard Crystal Bellinger who all posted double-figures, scoring 14, 14 and 10 respectively. Shoniker led all players, dishing out seven helpers, and Bellinger contributed a team-high four rebounds.
"I thought we did what we could offensively," Garrick said. "I thought we were getting where we needed to get to, but they're just a bigger and more athletic team. We just needed to get a couple more defensive rebounds."
The Spiders, who were led by sophomore forward Crystal Goring, out-rebounded Rhode Island 42-21, including a 17-8 advantage on the offensive side of the glass. Goring, who entered the game averaging only six points and seven rebounds per game, finished with a career-high 24 points and 15 rebounds.
"She had a great game," Garrick said. "She's 6-foot, 3-inches, long and very athletic. She's a horse and we don't have anybody quite that size. Caitlin [Kearns] got into foul trouble, but I thought she did a commendable job on the block. It really was just one of those situations when her physicality won out."
Goring and senior guard Johanna McKnight jump-started the Spiders to an early 9-0 advantage before a three-pointer from Bellinger sparked an 11-2 run by the Rams to knot the score up at 11. Neither team was able to pull away by more than five points throughout the remainder of the first half and the Rams entered the break trailing 31-30.
