Rhode Island Starters
Touré, Magassa, Phillips, Hyman, Davis
 
 
No. 14 NC State Starters
Collins, Baldwin, James, Hayes, Rivers
 
 
How it Happened
Rhode Island battled, but fell at nationally-ranked NC State (4-0) Sunday afternoon. The Rams (3-2) held the lead for 32 minutes of the game but couldn't keep up with the No. 14 team in the country in the final minutes of play.
 
The Rams built a 13-8 lead in the first quarter behind Mayé Touré's seven points. Back-to-back buckets by Touré and Hyman in the second period pushed the Rhody lead to double digits (23-13) and forced a Pack timeout. NC State used an 8-0 run to cut the lead to only one possession, but the Rams remained in front 23-21. NC State connected on 1-of-2 at the line to get them within one just before the break, but a last-second 3-pointer by Sophie Phillips lifted the Rams 30-26 going in to halftime.
 
Rhody's momentum continued into the third, pushing its lead by as many as six points (39-33) after another Hyman bucket. But undisciplined and sloppy play hurt the Rams late, as the Pack used another 6-0 run to get in front 46-45 in the last minutes of play. Sophie Phillips came up big beyond the arc yet again, sinking a 3-ball to give the Rams a 48-46 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
 
The final period was all NC State, as they powered through behind 20 points in the period alone and a 14-2 run to close the game.
 
 
Inside the Box Score

• The game was the first nationally-ranked opponent for the Rams in the Tammi Reiss era.
• The Rams were led by Mayé Touré's 19 points and eight rebounds.
• Teisha Hyman scored 12 points and added nine boards.
• Sophie Phillips scored all nine of her points from beyond the arc, shooting 3-of-6 from deep.
• After limiting NC State to 42.9 percent from the floor in the third quarter, the Wolfpack responded with a 72.7 percent performance in the fourth. The Rams shot a game-low 31.3 percent in the fourth.
• Tenin Magassa had a game-high five blocks. She extends her streak to five games with a blocked shot.
• NC State scored 18 points off of Rhody's 15 turnovers.

 
Up Next
The Rams make the trip to Vegas for the Las Vegas Holiday Classic for games against Youngstown State and Portland.