Rhody Starters
Melendez, Wilson, Ward, Bullard, T. Johnson

Bryant Starters
J. Bailey, I. Bailey, Winder, Rucker, Olander

How It Happened
Rhode Island's defense again led the way to a victory as the Rams held on to beat Bryant 60-56 Sunday.

After leading by as many as 12 in the first half, the Rams (8-3) saw their lead cut to one, 48-47 with 5:31 to go. Junior Tati Johnson hit back-to-back baskets and classmate Tayra Melendez added her own layup to push the lead back to 54-47. 

Bryant (6-4) never went away, cutting the lead to 56-53 with 2:07 to go. However, Rhody junior Symone Bullard made four straight free throws down the stretch to secure Rhode Island's seventh straight victory.

Inside the Box Score

• The 56 points were a season low for Bryant, which entered the game averaging 72.8 points per game.
• Freshman Charise Wilson finished with a game-high 24 points, marking the fourth time this season she has scored 20 or more in a game. Wilson scored 16 in the first half.
• Wilson has reached double digits in points in 10 straight games. She added five rebounds and three assists.
• Freshman Dominique Ward had a career-high 12 rebounds to go with four points and four steals.
• Junior Symone Bullard – who made her first start of the season – had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
• Junior Tayra Melendez also reached double digits, finishing with 10 points and three assists.
• Rhody held Bryant to 1-of-11 shooting from 3-point range (9.1 percent) in the first half. The Bulldogs were just 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc for the game.
• Junior captain Brianna Thomas made her first appearance of the season of missing the first 10 games with an injury. Thomas had four rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes.
• Junior Tati Johnson returned to the lineup after missing the last four games. She had eight points and four rebounds. 
• The Rhode Island defense forced 16 turnovers, which led to 16 points. The Rams forced 12 turnovers in the first half. 
• Rhode Island did not attempt a free throw until 12:53 of the second half.
• The game was delayed 35 minutes due to a technical issue with the scoreboard.

Stat of the Game
7 – Rhode Island has won seven games in a row for the first time since the 1983-84 season. The program record is eight straight victories, which occurred in the 1978-79 season.

What's Next
The Rams are off against for nine more days. Rhody hosts Dartmouth in its final non-conference game of the regular season on Dec. 30.