Jan. 18, 2007

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rhode Island sophomore guard Safi Mojidi scored 11 points and dished out four assists but it was #11/13 George Washington picking up the 61-45 victory over the Rams in Atlantic 10 women's basketball, Thursday, at the Smith Center in Washington, D.C.

Both teams got off to a slow start in the first half. URI (4-14, 2-2 A-10) finished 4-for-26 (.154) from the field for a season-low 13 points while committing 13 turnovers. The Rams led 4-0 after a pair of Mojidi free throws, but the Colonials scored 14 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead with 14:24 on the clock. URI went 8:37 during that span without a field goal, before a 6-0 run capped by a Whitney Hollis layup made it 14-10 with 6:45 to play in the half. GW (15-2, 4-0 A-10) finished the half on a 10-3 run to lead 24-13 after 20 minutes of play.

Rhode Island out-rebounded the Colonials for the game by a 43-33 margin, including an 18-8 advantage on the offensive glass, but only scored 10 second-chance points on 28.8 percent shooting for the game

"It is very deceptive when you look at the stat sheet and see how many offensive rebounds we had," said head coach Tom Garrick. "We took a lot of good shots that didn't drop. The way they pressure you and scramble in their half court zone enables you to get a lot of offensive rebounds. But they do a very good job of preventing you from capitalizing on your second chance opportunities. They make you take it all the way back out and face their defensive set again."

The two teams picked up the scoring pace in the second half. URI pulled to within nine points, 28-19, with 16:30 on the clock, but a 9-0 GW run made the score 37-19 at the 13:57 mark. The Colonials would pull away, leading by as many as 20 points half en route to the 16-point victory.

"When we got the ball down low, they were so big and imposing, it didn't benefit us to try and put the ball right back up. You need to pull the ball back out against them and they do a great job of resetting their zone defense."

The Rams finish off a four-game road swing on Saturday, January 20 at Temple at 4:30 p.m.

"It is just another tough task ahead of us at Temple on Saturday. That is what this league is about there are a lot of very good teams and night in and night out you have to bring your best to get a victory," said Garrick.