By: Hannah Lorusso
GoRhody.com Staff

Sophie Phillips is a sophomore guard on the University of Rhode Island women's basketball team, and her story of her basketball career progression sparked when she was in high school in New York at Cambridge Central. During her last season with the Indians she successfully shot 73 three-pointers which was an impressive 46 percent shooting beyond the arc and set a school record. She also led Cambridge Central School with 17.2 points per game while grabbing 5.2 steals and 4.6 rebounds per contest her senior year. Also, in 2020, Phillips was named the Rose Classic Super Jam MVP, while also getting two consecutive League MVP nods in 2019 and 2020.

Sophomore year of high school she was recruited by Rhode Island head coach Tammi Reiss and associate head coach Megan Shoniker to play for the Division 1 Women's basketball team at the University of Rhode Island. She grew the relationship with the coaches at URI by connecting to them constantly and continuing to talk to them. She was unable to tour URI because of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 but she knew it was the perfect place for her. Her career with the Rams began when she finally got to meet everyone in person at the first summer workout in 2020, and she was so excited for the future.

Sophie Phillips spent most of last season watching the game from the bench, as she was a freshman, and the games that she did play in she averaged 7.5 minutes of playing time. Although she was on the bench, she was able to watch the upperclassmen and grow as a basketball player. She watched on as the season progressed and the team went on an impressive 13-game winning streak. The upperclassmen taught Phillips so much, and most importantly her confidence in herself progressed.

This season Phillips has started the last six games, received Player of the Game chain for her outstanding performance against Hartford, scoring 21 points aiding in a win for Rhody against the Hawks. As her confidence continued to grow, thanks to her players, and coaches alike, she has excelled as a basketball player at the University of Rhode Island. 

Phillips said, "The coaches have helped so much and they truly mesh so well together as coaching staff. They are always willing to come early to practice and stay after to work on individual stuff. For the whole team they do a great job setting the culture, and they start every practice with four words: Communication, culture, compete, hard work."

This season she has truly shown her excellence as a shooter from long range with impressive statistics. From inside the box score from the Buffalo game: "Sophomore Sophie Phillips led the way for the Rams with 15 points, connecting on 5-of-8 from long range. It was her best career performance as a Ram." Watching the upperclassmen her freshman year, working with outstanding coaching staff, and more playing time truly led her to the level of confidence she has today, and the talent she shows every single game on the court. 

As said by Phillips: "Confidence has been key this year!"