Rhode Island Starters
Phillips, Debroise, Komara, Dutat, Kaur

St. John's Starters
Donald, Dwyer, Mayo, Daye, Gedeon

How it Happened
Streaky shooting and a big third quarter by visiting St. John's doomed Rhode Island women's basketball to a 60-45 loss on Sunday afternoon at the Ryan Center. The Rams (2-3) shot a season-low .347 from the floor and were just 7-of-14 from the free throw line. 

Neither the Rams nor the Red Storm (4-0) played their best basketball in the first half, which saw 14 total turnovers. With two of its starters in foul trouble, Rhode Island had to go to its bench early and luckily, Palmire Mbu and Cia Eklöf  delivered. Eklöf sparked the offense with a first-quarter trey that broke up a four-minute scoreless streak for the Rams, while Mbu provided a key block and a bucket on the following possession to tie the game at 7-7 around the five-minute mark. 

Rhody, which led 16-12 after the first quarter, held on to its advantage in the second despite more sloppy play. A steal and a fast-break layup by the Red Storm had the score down to one possession with 5:36 on the clock (18-16), but it was the closest that the visitors got as URI pulled away with a 7-0 run that was capped off by a give-and-go from Sophia Vital to Hawa Komara. 

After the halftime break, St. John's chipped away at Rhode Island's 27-18 lead with a 10-0 run that put the team up 32-31 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Though a Rhody timeout allowed the squad to reset and come up with an Hawa Komara bucket, the visitors remained in control, outscoring their hosts 21-6 in the period.

The Rams' shooting struggles followed them into the fourth quarter as the team went more than five minutes without a field goal. The Red Storm stretched their lead to as much as 10 before Ines Debroise knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the deficit down to single digits (47-39) with three and a half minutes to play. Rhody showed a few flashes of hope down the stretch, including the first career three from rookie Ayanna Franks, but it was not enough to pull off the comeback. 

Inside the Box Score

• Prior to the start of the game, it was announced that head coach Tammi Reiss would miss the contest due to illness. Associate head coach Adeniyi Amadou served as acting head coach.
• Forward Anaelle Dutat had a career-high 17 rebounds. Her previous best was 15 from a game at Saint Louis on Dec. 30, 2023. 
• The junior added eight points, two steals, one assist and one block to round out her stat line.
• Guard Ines Debroise led the offense with 10 points as the only Ram to score in the double digits. 
• Forward Palmire Mbu set new career highs in rebounds (five), assists (four) and blocks (three). She also chipped in eight points. 
• St. John's had a 17-4 advantage in points off turnovers and a 9-5 lead in fast break points. 
• Both teams finished with 21 bench points. 

Up Next
The Rams will hit the road for a game at UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.