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

Fordham Starters
Karpell, DeWolfe, Dapaa, Downey, Dingle

How it Happened
Rhode Island battled back from down 13 to force overtime, but fell on a last-second 3-pointer 74-73 Wednesday night. Turnovers doomed the visiting Rams, as they committed a season-high 25 on the night. 

Rhody (22-5, 13-2 A-10) jumped to a 9-6 lead at the first media timeout after Sophie Phillips hit her first 3-pointer of the day (4:31). An Emmi Rinat steal found Anaelle Dutat under the basket to put URI up 14-8. Phillips hit her third three of the quarter to give Rhody the 19-13 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively in a 2:45 scoring drought during the second quarter. A Sayawni Lassiter 3-pointer ended an almost four-minute drought for Rhody, giving them a 26-20 lead. Lassiter scored on a pull up jumper followed by a Tenin Magassa layup to go up eight, (30-22) but Fordham (17-11, 9-6 A-10) rallied off eight straight points to tie it 30-30 going into the break. 

It was all Fordham in the third, as the host Rams hit a 3-pointer out the gate and used a 16-2 run carried over from the second quarter to build a 38-32 lead. Fordham outscored Rhody 26-16 in the third period, going up by as much as 13 points after a Kaitlyn Downey jumper. An uncharacteristic 3-pointer from the corner by Mayé Touré was good and kept Rhody within 10 entering the final 10 minutes of regulation (56-46). 

In the fourth, Rhody used a 9-0 run to get within four (61-57) and after Anna DeWolfe hit a bucket, Lassiter answered with a 3-pointer. Touré drew the and-one and completed the classic three-point play to tie it at 63 with 1:29 left. Dutat made both at the charity stripe (65-63)  with 30 seconds left, but an out-of-bounds call was overturned and Fordham got the ball with three seconds left of regulation. Jada Dapaa was able to get a shot off under the basket with 2.3 seconds left. An inbounds play found Dutat under the basket with an initial miss, but she got her own rebound and missed again in the paint with contact but no foul drawn and the teams were sent into extra time.

The host Rams got the first points of the overtime period, but Rhody rang off a 5-0 run to build a three-point lead (70-67) with 2:37 to play. DeWolfe hit a layup with just under a minute left and Fordham fouled Ines Debroise once Rhody got the ball back. With four seconds on the clock, Debroise went 1-of-2, making her second to give Rhody a two-point lead (73-71). Fordham got the inbound to DeWolfe and she was able to get the shot off just over half court at the buzzer for the 74-73 win. 

Inside the Box Score 

• Junior Mayé Touré had her fifth 20-point game of the season, pouring in 25 points. She paired it with 14 rebounds for her 12th double-double on the year. 
• Sophomore Sophie Phillips had 15 points off the bench, connecting on all three of her 3-pointers in the first quarter. 
• Grad seniors Sayawni Lassiter and Madison Hattix-Covington each added 10 points for the third and fourth in double-figures. Hattix-Covington added 12 boards for her second double-double in a Rhody uniform.
• Freshman Anaelle Dutat had a big game off the bench for the Rams, adding a career-high nine points and added nine rebounds. She made crucial free throws down the stretch to keep Rhody in it.
• Rhode Island committed a season-high 25 turnovers, with 15 coming in the first half. Fordham scored 30 points off the miscues.
• Rhody held the slight advantage in points in the paint, 38-36.
• Rhode Island dominated the rebound game, 50-37, and scored 16 points off second chance. 

Up Next
The Rams host Dayton for the regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 25. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. Prior to the game, seniors Madison Hattix-Covington, Sayawni Lassiter, and Emma Squires will be honored for their accomplishments in Keaney Blue.