How it Happened
Rhode Island improved to 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 with a 59-49 victory over visiting George Mason Saturday afternoon. It marks the first time since 2009-10 that URI opens conference play with back-to-back wins. Current assistant coach Megan Shoniker was a junior for the Rams that season.

The Rams jumped out to an early double-digit lead as Dolly Cairns connected on 3-of-4 from the perimeter and forced George Mason to call a time out trailing 13-3 just 3:36 into the game. Rhody went cold from there however, going 0-7 from the field and 0-4 from the line to close out the period.

The Patriots continued to close the gap in the second quarter, eventually evening the score at at 18 apiece before pulling ahead 21-18 on a 3-pointer by Taylor Jameson with 3:11 remaining on the clock. Emmanuelle Tahane then tied things back up at 21-21 on the next possession, using a traditional 3-point play to level the score. URI's defense forced the Patriots into back-to-back turnovers late, and scored a pair of points off each miscue to eventually head into the break up 26-23.

The Rams remained on top throughout the second half, despite Mason cutting the lead to two twice in the third quarter. Chanell Williams pushed Rhody's advantage back to 10 on a long-range jumper midway through the fourth, and URI led by double digits the rest of the way.

Inside the Box Score

• Dolly Cairns led Rhode Island with a game-high 19 points. She also had three rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Emmanuelle Tahane added 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal.
• Dez Elmore was the third Ram to score in double figures, finishing with her fourth double-double of the season (10p/12r). She also contributed two blocks and one assist.
• Marie-Paule Foppossi grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with six points, three steals and two assists.
• Chanell Williams finished with seven points, five rebounds three assists and two steals.
• George Mason's bench outscored Rhody's 17-2.
• The Rams outrebounded the Patriots 46-32.
• Rhode Island has now held its opponents under 50 points in five consecutive games.

Up Next
Rhody is back in action on Monday night when it hosts UMass. Tipoff at the Ryan Center is set for 6 p.m.