Spring Break
Women's basketball still can't ditch losing streak
Matt Swiss
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Sports
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.
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.
