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

Saint Joseph's Starters
Brugler, Mullins, Ziegler, Jekot, Smith
 
How it Happened
Sophie Phillips hit a contested 3-point shot with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift Rhode Island to a 58-55 road win at Saint Joseph's Sunday.

The Rams (22-4, 13-1 Atlantic 10) overcame a rough start to pick up the important conference win. Rhody kept pace with Massachusetts atop the A-10 standings after the Minutewomen beat Davidson Sunday.
 
Saint Joseph's (18-8, 8-6 A-10) was on fire from long range early, hitting 4-of-6 from the perimeter as it opened the game with a 16-4 run. Laura Ziegler hit a pair while Katie Jekot and Mackenzie Smith each had one. Rhody's Emmi Rinat hit a 3-pointer of her own to slow the run, but URI found itself down 18-8 after one quarter. The Rams shot 3-for-12 from the floor, 1-for-4 at the free throw line and 1-for-3 from the perimeter in the opening 10 minutes.

Rhode Island showed signs of life by scoring the first six points of the second quarter, five of which came from Dolly Cairns. The Hawks responded with a 7-0 of their own to extend the lead to 25-14 with 6:21 left in the half. From there it was all Rhode Island, as URI closed the half on an 11-0 run.

Tenin Magassa scored a pair of second-chance baskets, and Cairns hit five straight free throws to close the gap to two points. An Ines Debroise steal led to a fastbreak layup for Rinat, and the Rams tied the game at 25-25 before halftime.

Sayawni Lassiter put the Rams ahead in the third quarter. With her team down 29-27, Lassiter hit a layup to tie the score and made a free throw to complete the old fashioned three-point play. After Saint Joseph's got a layup from Talya Brugler, Lassiter came right back with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Moments later Lassiter found Sophie Phillips for a 3-pointer to give URI a 36-31 lead, its biggest of the day. The Hawks scored five straight to tie the score again, but Lassiter hit a pull-up jumper and Phillips followed with another 3-pointer to help Rhody take a 41-40 led into the final period.

Magassa hit a turnaround jumper to give URI a 47-44 lead with 7:42 to go, but Saint Joseph's ran off six straight points to go up by three. Jekot and Brugler hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put their team in front.

Mayé Touré hit a jumper with 3:39 to go for her first points of the game to get Rhody back within a point. Mackenzie Smith came right back with one free throw on Saint Joseph's next possession to make it 51-49. Touré struck again when she got an offensive rebound on a missed free throw by Anaelle Dutat, tying the game. After a defensive stop, it was Touré again making a shot to put Rhody in front, 53-51.

Jekot hit a layup to tie the score, and then Laura Ziegler got a steal that led to a Smith layup, putting Saint Joseph's ahead 55-53 with 56 seconds remaining. Things looked bleak after another URI turnover, but Anaelle Dutat picked the pocket of Jekot, who then was called for an intentional foul when she prevented Dutat from the breakaway.

Head coach Tammi Reiss chose Lassiter to go to the line for the two free throws, which she sank. Rhode Island then got possession, and they worked the clock down until Phillips' big shot. A last-second attempt by the Hawks was off the mark, and Rhode Island emerged with the win.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island was 10-for-16 from the free throw line. Saint Joseph's was 2-for-4.
• Junior Dolly Cairns led Rhode Island with 12 points and was 5-for-5 at the free throw line.
• Graduate student Sayawni Lassiter had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
• Sophomore Sophie Phillips had nine points, all of which came on 3-point shots.
• Junior Tenin Magassa had eight points, five rebounds and one block.
• Junior Mayé Touré had six points and four rebounds. All of her points came with less than four minutes to go.
• After allowing 18 points in the first quarter, Rhode Island's defense held the Hawks to 37 the rest of the way.
• URI scored 16 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds.
• Saint Joseph's had a 16-4 edge in points off turnovers.
• Rhode Island improved to 22-4, matching the program's most wins in a single season. Rhody's 13 conference wins also match the program's best. The last time the Rams had 13 wins in the Atlantic 10 was the 1995-96 team that had the first and only NCAA appearance.

What's Next
Rhode Island visits Fordham on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPN+.