RHODE ISLAND vs. XAVIER
Rhode Island is 5-15 in the all-time series vs. the Musketeers, picking up its last win - a 68-66 victory - on Jan. 8, 2006. Since then, Rhody has dropped five straight contests. The last time the teams met (Jan. 29, 2011), Xavier handed the Rams a 67-47 loss in Cincinnati. In that game, Lara Gaspar led all players with 22. Megan Shoniker also scored in double figures for Rhody as she finished with 13 points, four assists and a game-best three steals. Caitlin Kearns, meanwhile, led the Rams on the glass with eight rebounds.
CATHY INGLESE vs. XAVIER
Over her 24+ years as a head coach, Cathy Inglese has only faced the Musketeers twice, going 0-2 since taking over the Rhode Island program in 2009-10.
SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
Xavier - which is 3-15 overall and 0-5 in the Atlantic 10 - enters the game looking to snap an 11-game losing streak dating back to early December. XU is the only team aside from Rhode Island that has yet to post a win in Atlantic 10 play. The Musketeers - who are 0-8 when playing away from the Cintas Center - are led offensively by Tyeasha Moss (12.1 ppg) and Lynette Holmes (12.0 ppg). Moss also leads the teams in assists (59) and steals (16) while Jessica Pachko enters the matchup averaging a team-best 8.7 rebounds. Collectively, XU is averaging 57.9 points and 38.9 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT: SAINT LOUIS 70, RHODE ISLAND 55
- URI shot 42.3% on the afternoon, hitting 22-of-52 attempts from the field and 8-or-9 from the foul line. SLU, meanwhile, connected at a 45.3% (24-53) clip and connected on six three-point attempts.
- The 55-point effort was Rhode Island's best offensive showing since netting 56 points at Lehigh on Dec. 29. It was also the team's first game shooting 40-percent or better since the 67-56 loss to the Mountain Hawks.
- The Billikens held a 35-28 rebounding advantage, but Rhody finished with a 12-9 edge in steals.
- After getting off to a slow start and trailing 35-18 at the break, Rhode Island played evenly with Saint Louis throughout the second frame, outscoring the Billikens 37-35 over the final 20 minutes of play.
- Megan Straumann led the Rams with a career-high 13 points. It marked the first time that she reached double figures and the fourth time this season that a Rhody freshman was the team's top scorer. Corinne Coia also came off the bench to score in double figures as she finished with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
- Sherrie Session led the team on the boards (8 reb.) for the 11th time this season while Ashley Rivera logged 35+ minutes on the floor for the 14th time.
