SOUTH KINGSTOWN - Up they climbed on the ladder, scissors in hand, sights on the net.
Up to heights never seen before in the history of University of Rhode Island women’s basketball.
With a dominant 81-57 win over Dayton in their finale, the Rams secured a share of their first-ever Atlantic 10 regular season championship while setting a new program record for victories.
“To feel that moment, when the clock hits and the buzzer goes off, there’s no other feeling like it,” head coach Tammi Reiss said.
History has been made a number of times since Reiss began molding the Rams into a contender, but the latest marks in the record book are especially bold. URI finished the regular season at 23-5, with that win total breaking the record set last year. Their 14 A-10 wins are also a new high-water mark. So are the 13 home wins.
The A-10 regular-season crown is something URI has never done in its time in the league. For many of their nearly five decades of women’s basketball, the Rams were not even close to any kind of hardware.
“I think it’s beautiful because we come from far away,” junior Maye Toure said. “We work hard every day, we remind each other of the goals, and we’re here.”
URI had lost two of its last three, a clunker against fellow A-10 leader UMass and a buzzer-beater heartbreaker on Wednesday at Fordham. When St. Louis surprised UMass that same night, it opened the door for the Rams to get their hands on the banner. And they grabbed it tightly.
Last year, a loss in a big late-season game seemed to knock the Rams off course for good and dashed their title hopes. These Rams seem to be completely back on track.
“We just didn’t have the same chemistry, the same culture,” Reiss said. “It affected us, especially toward the end. When we got punched in the face, we kind of separated. I spent more time and effort trying to get us together this year. These guys are so unselfish and so supportive, the chemistry was here from day one.”
When the Rams made their first six shots from the field on Saturday, it was a hint of what was to come. From a 13-10 advantage, they ended the quarter on a 14-0 run. The accelerator remained on the floor for the rest of the day. URI led 53-24 at halftime and didn’t cool down, opening up a 36-point lead in the third quarter, before finally coasting in the fourth.
Rhody shot 52 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range. They racked up 19 assists on 31 made baskets.
“I think just after Fordham, we had more of a chip on our shoulder,” senior Sayawni Lassiter said. “We knew we had to get this one.”
On her senior day, Madison Hattix-Covington led four Rams in double figures with 21 points. Toure added 15 points. Sophie Phillips had 13 and Emmi Rinat totaled 12.
Emma Squires and Lassiter were also honored in senior day festivities. The three seniors all transferred in ahead of this season, helping the Rams retool after heavy graduation losses.
“If we didn’t bring those pieces in with their mentorship, their leadership and their overall caring, I don’t think we’d be sitting here as A-10 champs,” Reiss said.
At the final buzzer, URI celebrated to a standing ovation from an announced crowd of 1,952 and then they partied. Confetti fell from the rafters, and the Rams trotted around the court with championship posters. They donned championship t-shirts and hats, and Reiss grabbed a microphone to address the crowd.
“We built this from when there were 24 people in the stands,” Reiss told the crowd. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Then the nets came down. Players, coaches and managers went up one by one. Reiss took the final turn and draped the net around her neck.
Before her arrival in Kingston, championships felt very far away.
“It’s the reason I came here - to build something special,” Reiss said. “It’s the reason I didn’t want to leave here - not doing what I said I would do when I talked to [Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn]. My ultimate goal here was to build a program, win a championship and do it consistently. Everything ran through my mind - the first year, how we took our lumps. It was just pure joy.”
With more history to chase in the postseason, the performance was worth celebrating, as well. With UMass taking the tiebreaker for the top spot, URI will be the No. 2 seed in the A-10 tournament, which begins this coming week in Wilmington, Delaware.
“I think it’s huge momentum,” Reiss said. “We played probably the toughest schedule at the end of the year. We went through a gauntlet. We played every top team and other than UMass, it was all great games. Confidence-wise, I know they can compete with anybody. And they know it now.”
