Providence, R.I.-Juniors Rachel Riley (Coventry, RI) and Stephanie Coro (North Providence, RI) led the Rhode Island College women's basketball team to a 69-57 win over Southern Maine in Little East Conference action played at The Murray Center. |
|
The Anchorwomen (16-6, 7-5 LEC) lock themselves into the fourth seed in the upcoming 2011 Little East Conference Tournament and will host a first round game on Tuesday, Feb. 22. RIC cannot finish any higher or lower in the standings, no matter what happens in its final two league contests. |
|
The Huskies (15-8, 10-2 LEC) fall out of first place and are now tied with Eastern Connecticut for second, one game behind league leader Western Connecticut. RIC snapped a 24-game losing steak to USM in 2009, but the Huskies recovered to win the last five matchups prior to today's action. |
|
Riley notched her 13th double-double effort of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three assists, three steals and a block. Coro recovered from a tough first-half shooting performance to equal Riley offensively. |
|
Senior guard Lauren Harrington (Exeter, RI) fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Sophomore guard Ashley O'Dell (Lincoln, RI) contributed 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. |
|
The Anchorwomen never trailed in the contest, although there were two early ties in the first four minutes. RIC began to assert itself with an 11-0 run to build a 17-6 lead at 11:48. The Huskies trimmed their deficit down to eight, but the Anchorwomen continued to hold off the visitors. RIC went into halftime up by 12 points, 34-22. |
|
In the second half, the Anchorwomen held a double-digit advantage for the majority of the final 20 minutes. USM made a slight run, cutting its deficit down to seven points, 62-55, on a 6-0 run with 2:46 left in the game. |
|
However, O'Dell quickly came back with a layup to ignite a 5-0 run to help secure the win. |
|
RIC shot 43 percent (24-of-56) from the field, which was bolstered by a 58-percent (11-for-19) effort in the second stanza as the hosts played ball control offense. A key factor was the squad's 11 first half offensive rebounds, which gave them 12 extra shots. |
|
Southern Maine outrebounded RIC, 44-35, but could not capitalize on the advantage. USM shot 36 percent (20-for-55) overall and made just two-of-17 three-point attempts. |
|
USM junior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, ME) posted game-high of 22 points and 16 rebounds. |
|
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference play at home against UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday, Feb. 15. |