Dec. 8, 2007
Box Score
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Redshirt junior Crystal Bellinger (New York, N.Y.) recorded a team-best 14 points and six rebounds as the Rhode Island women's basketball team suffered a 67-44 loss at Boston College, Saturday afternoon. The defeat drops the Rams to 4-6 while the Eagles improve to 7-2.
BC opened the game with four-straight points by Carolyn Swords before Rhody took the lead (5-4) on a three by junior Amanda McGrew and a layup by classmate Sierra Cooper (Blairs, Va.). Swords put BC back on top by one with her third field goal of the game with 16:38 left on the clock.
Stephanie Murphy then sank three of her eight first-half buckets to help Boston College increase its lead to 14-9 over the next five minutes but Rhody responded with a 9-3 run to gain an 18-17 advantage with 8:39 to go.
BC continued to come at the Rams and took the lead for good on Murphy's fourth layup of the game 25 seconds later. Senior Safi Mojidi (Silver Spring, Md.) nailed a three to get URI to within two (23-21) with 6:23 left in the half but the Eagles went on to outscore Rhody, 12-1, through the remainder of the first frame and took a 33-23 lead into the locker room.
Boston College opened the second half with a six-minute 12-3 run that saw Rhode Island's only points coming off two Mojidi free throws and one by Cooper. The Eagles increased their lead to 20 (47-27) before Bellinger and junior Tanja Licina (Belgrade, Serbia) each netted a pair of free throws and Licina made a layup to cut the Eagles' lead to 14 (49-35) with 11:25 to go in the game. It was as close as the Rams would get though, as Boston College went on to take the 67-44 win.
Bellinger led the way for the Rams with 14 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes on the floor while Cooper added 12 points and freshman Megan Shoniker (Rochester, N.Y.) tallied a game-high four steals. Murphy ended with game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Eagles while Swords recorded 14 points and Ayla Brown scored 10. Swords and Brown also ended with nine boards a piece.
The Rams will now break for final exams before returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 22, when they host Kent State at Noon.
