Two teams have broken away from the pack in the Atlantic 10 and they’ll meet on Thursday night in Kingston.

The University of Rhode Island women’s basketball will host the University of Massachusetts for a 6 p.m. tipoff, in a battle of the top two teams in the league. The Rams are still unbeaten in conference play at 12-0. UMass is 11-1, with its only loss coming to URI.

“Those previous 12 wins, it’s great for confidence,” URI coach Tammi Reiss said. “But it all comes down to just one game. We’re focused on that. We’re going to get ready. We’re prepping for them. We hope we pack the Ryan Center and just make it as loud as possibly we can – have people come out and support these young ladies.”

URI beat UMass in Amherst on Jan. 4, in its second conference game of the season. It was an eye-popping win over the preseason league favorite and the first major sign that the Rams would be a contender again. They’ve rolled from there, staying perfect in the A-10, with most of their victories coming by a wide margin.

The Rams are 21-3 overall and received six votes in the Associated Press Top 25 this week, the most ever for the program. URI had never received votes in the AP poll until last season.

Rhode Island is ranked 62nd in the NCAA’s NET rankings.

UMass has been just as good since its loss to URI. The Minutewomen are 21-4 overall and have won 10 in a row, with a 14.5-point average of margin of victory. They’re just two spots below URI in the NET rankings.

Thursday’s matchup will be a case of strength on strength. UMass ranks first in the A-10 in scoring offense, while URI tops the table in scoring defense.

A win for the Rams would put them on the inside track for the No. 1 seed in the A-10 tournament. A loss would bring tiebreakers into play.

The game with UMass kicks off a gauntlet for the Rams. They’ll visit St. Joseph’s – who pushed them to double overtime in an earlier meeting – and third-place Fordham, before closing the season against perennial contender Dayton on Feb. 25.