Rhode Island Starters
Cairns, Squires, Toure, Hattix-Covington, Lassiter

Providence Starters
Efosa, Crooms, Scott, Farrell, Olsen

How it Happened
Rhode Island rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to edge in-state rival Providence 74-72 Monday night.

Both teams were clicking early, with both sides scoring 21 points in the opening quarter. Providence (2-1) shot 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from the floor, while URI was 8-for-17 (47.1 percent). Rhody (2-1) was 3-for-6 from long range, as Dolly Cairns, Sophie Phillips and Emmi Rinat each connected once from the arc.

The second quarter belonged to the Friars, who scored the first seven points of the period. Cairns hit a 3-pointed to pause the momentum, but Providence stayed hot, building its lead to as many as 13 points. Guard Janai Crooms did most of the damage, scoring 15 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting. By halftime, Rhody found itself down, 50-40.

Forward Maye Toure sparked the Rams in the third quarter. At one point she scored six consecutive points to help Rhode Island get back into the game. Defensively URI limited the Friars to 3-of-10 from the floor, helping to pull Rhody within four points entering the final quarter.

Providence led by six points following a layup by Grace Efosa that made the score 66-60 with 6:23 to go. From there, Rhode Island went on a 12-2  surge to take the lead for the first time since late in the first quarter. Madison Hattix-Covington started the surge with a 3-point shot from the corner, but PC's Janai Crooms (24 points) responded with a layup. A Cairns jumer followed by an old-fashioned three-point play by Hattix Covington tied the game for URI at 68-68 with 4:38 to go.

Rhody took the lead on a Sayawni Lassiter layup, and then Hawa Komara extended the lead with a layup off an assist from Cairns. Providence eventually tied the game again at 72-72 on a layup from Crooms. After both teams had empty possessions, Toure hit a layup off a feed from Lassiter for the winning points with 53 seconds to go. URI came up with a defensive stop and then worked the clock down to four seconds before Providence was able to get the ball back. However, the Friars were unable to get a final shot off, and the Rams picked up their second win of the season.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island had a big advantage in points off turnovers, scoring 24 points off of 18 Friar turnovers.
• By comparison, Providence had 12 points off just 10 URI turnovers.
• Junior Maye Toure led the Rams with 16 points to go with five rebounds and two steals.
• Freshman Anaelle Dutat had a major impact, grabbing 14 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. She added four points, three assists and two steals.
• She led the team with a plus-minus of +14.
• Junior Dolly Cairns and graduate student Madison Hattix-Covington each had 13 points for Rhode Island.
• Graduate student Emma Squires had eight points while fellow graduate transfer Sayawni Lassiter added seven points and six assists.
• Providence shot 72 percent from the floor in the opening half, making 21-of-29 from the floor. Rhode Island limited the guests to 8-for-21 from the floor after the break.
• The Friars outrebounded Rhode Island 17-11 in the first half, but URI had a 21-16 edge in the final 20 minutes.

Up Next
The Rams are off for eight days until they host Coppin State on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at the Ryan Center. Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+, with an audio broadcast on The Varsity Network.