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

Providence Starters
Efosa, Morales, Scarlett, Olsen, Archibald

How it Happened
A cold shooting night doomed Rhode Island as it fell 48-45 to in-state rival Providence Wednesday night.

Sophie Phillips drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to help Rhody (4-6) get out to a slight 8-6 lead. However, Providence (5-5) used back-to-back Grace Efosa 3-pointers to move ahead 14-10. URI got the final points of the quarter when Sophia Vital hit a layup just before the buzzer to make it a one-possession game.

Rhode Island limited the Friars to six points in the second period as the Friars were just 2-for-13 from the floor. A 10-0 Rhody run that was punctuated by 3-pointers from Katie Ledden and Harsimran "Honey" Kaur helped the Rams carry a 24-20 lead into the half.

With URI leading 30-26 following an Hawa Komara layup, Providence went on a 5-0 spurt. A 3-pointer from Grace Efosa put the guests up 31-30, but Rhody's Ayanna Franks scored the game's next five points, getting a second-chance layup followed by a banked 3-pointer to make it 35-31 Rhody. The Friars ended the quarter with another 5-0 run, going up 36-35 on an Efosa layup just before the buzzer.

RhodWith points hard to come by for either side, Providence nudged ahead to a 46-40 lead following an Orlagh Gormley layup with 3:54 to go, giving the Friars their biggest lead of the night. Neither side scored again until a Sophia Vital 3-pointer with 10.9 seconds to cut the deficit in half for URI. After committing just two fouls to that point, Rhody had to commit three fouls in 4.1 seconds to put PC on the free throw line. Grace Efosa hit 2-of-2 to make it a five-point game with 6.8 seconds left, and Rhody was only able to get an inconsequential layup by Harsimran "Honey" Kaur at the buzzer as it dropped its third straight game.

Inside the Box Score

• Center Harsimran "Honey" Kaur led Rhode Island with nine points and 10 rebounds.
• Forward Anaelle Dutat had seven points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
• Guard Sophie Phillips had eight points and four assists.
• With her second 3-pointer of the night, Phillips tied Rhode Island Ring of Honor and Hall of Fame member Dayna Smith (1992-96) for third place in program history with 184.
• Rhode Island did not attempt a free throw.
• Guard Ayanna Franks had seven points and three rebounds off the bench.
• Guard Sophia Vital had five points, five assists and four steals.
• Forward Hawa Komara had six points and seven rebounds.
• The Rams had 15 assists on 19 field goals. However, URI shot just 19-of-60 from the field.

Up Next
Rhode Island hits the road for back-to-back games against Ivy League schools, starting with Harvard on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. The Rams play at Princeton on Wednesday, Dec. 11.