Jan. 28, 2007

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island junior guard Safi Mojidi scored 26 points and handed out five assists but it was Saint Louis handing the Rams a 72-67 loss in Atlantic 10 women's basketball action in the Ryan Center on Sunday.

Saint Louis (9-12, 1-6 A-10) made the most of 24 Rhode Island fouls, hitting 26-of-31 free throws on the afternoon. The two teams combined for 38 turnovers, including 20 by the Billikens.

Sophomore forward Jessica Magley totaled 15 points and grabbed a game-best nine rebounds for Rhode Island (5-16, 3-4 A-10).

SLU freshman guard Katie Paganelli turned in a game-high 27 points to lead four Billikens in double-figure scoring.

The loss came two days after the Rams handed Charlotte its first conference loss of the season in a 91-78 Ram victory on Friday.

"I'm disappointed in the approach of our team today. It shows a little bit of our inexperience in not understanding that every game is a separate entity unto itself and that you have to come prepared ready to compete as hard as possible every day. If we had played with the level of intensity that we did the last couple minutes of the game, it might have been a different ballgame."

Tied, 39-39, with 15:26 to play in the second half, Saint Louis used a 9-2 to take a 48-41 lead with 10:04 on the clock. The Rams answered with an 8-2 run of their own on three-pointers by Mojidi and freshman guard Lindsay Harris and a put-back by sophomore forward Sierra Cooper to pull within one, 50-49, with 6:22 remaining.

The Billikens would go to the free-throw line on its next five possessions, converting 9-of-10 opportunities en route to an 11-0 run and 61-49 lead with 2:44 to play. A pair of free-throws by sophomore guard Amanda McGrew would stop the three-minute URI scoring drought, but two more trips to the foul line yielded four more points to stake SLU to a comfortable 65-51 lead with 1:44 to play.

Rhode Island would try to claw its way back with a 9-0 run on consecutive three-pointers by Mojidi and a three-point play by Magley that made the score 65-60 with :48 seconds to play, but SLU would convert five-of-eight free-throws in the final seconds to stave off the Ram comeback.

Saint Louis went to the free-throw line 29 times in the second half alone, converting 24 opportunities.

The first half got off to a messy start as the two teams combined for 23 turnovers. Trailing 19-14 at the 6:39 mark, an 8-0 Rhody run including five points by Mojidi, put the Rams ahead, 22-19, with 5:16 on the clock. URI held on to lead, 30-29, at halftime.

Rhode Island continues its four-game homestand next weekend, taking on Fordham at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 1, before taking on Saint Joseph's at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 4, in a game scheduled to be televised on A-10 TV and locally on Cox Sports Ch. 3.