University of Rhode Island vs Virginia Commonwealth University
Women’s Atlantic 10 Tournament – Quarterfinals
Stuart C. Siegel Center, Richmond, VA
Friday, March 12, 2021
2:00PM
Women’s Atlantic 10 Tournament – Quarterfinals
Stuart C. Siegel Center, Richmond, VA
Friday, March 12, 2021
2:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN+
Previews:
VCU’s Fan Forum
Let’s give some love to the URI Women’s team!! This team is enjoying by far their best season since the 95-96 season (my sophomore year at URI) where they went 21-8 & appeared in the NCAA tournament (the only time in team history that has happened). Tammi Reiss, who just won A10 Coach of the Year, has turned this perennial loser around. Before their last NCAA appearance & the hiring of Coach Reiss, the Rams had a losing record in 19 of their 23 seasons. They had 3 seasons during that time frame of winning only 3 or less games. Although just in her second season, Reiss is only the 3rd URI Women’s coach with a career winning record. The other 2, Beth Bricker & Nancy Lanham, where their first two coaches ever. No other coach has a winning percentage over 40%.
URI heads into the A10 Tournament on a double bye, jumping to the quarterfinals, to take on the VCU Rams. The Rams of Rhode Island clinched the 4th seed in the A10 Tournament by beating the Rams of VCU at the Ryan Center just last week. That win was the first ever over VCU. The Rams in Keaney Blue absolutely lit it up from the field, shooting 69% from the floor & 58% from three on 12 attempts. Rhody has a tough draw in the tournament as VCU is a very good team & will have the advantage of playing at home since the A10 Tournament is at the Siegel Center. I believe VCU will be without their leading rebounder, Sydnei Archie, as she has not played in over a month. VCU’s backcourt is led by 2 seniors, Taya Robinson & Tera Reed. They are their top 2 leading scorers & with Archie out, Robinson is the teams leading rebounder with just shy of 6 per game. VCU’s team is a little deeper, playing 7 while Rhody generally plays only 6. The Rhode Island Rams should be called the Rhode Island Béliers as they have 6 players on their roster from France, thanks to Associate Head Coach Adeniyi Amadou who is from France & helped recruit most of these players. Throw in Marta Vargas from Portugal & even Bob McKillop is envious of the number of foreign players on this team. Emmanuelle Tahane (Co-Player of the Year in the A10) & Marie-Paule Foppossi (2nd Team A10) will win the front court battle as these 2 forwards can score. Throw in freshmen spot-up shooter Catherine Cairns (All-Rookie A10) off the bench & this team can score with anyone. Cairns shot 42% from behind the arc this season. Of those three aforementioned players on The Béliers of Rhode Island, I am a big fan of MP Foppossi, who has looked great in the handful of games I have watched. She can take her defender off the dribble, has a decent stroke from outside & is a solid rebounder. Rhody has a solid shot of winning this “road” game & then taking on a VERY difficult Dayton squad in the semifinals. I predict a Béliers win, 72-67. Wear a Mask & Go Rhody!
Opponent
Record:
12-10, 10-5 in the Atlantic 10
Last season: 20-12, 13-3 in the Atlantic 10
URI’s Record :
11-7, 11-4 in the Atlantic 10
Last season: 13-16, 6-10 in the Atlantic 10
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 122 (101)
Leaders:
Points – Tanya Robinson 13.7 (Sr., G)
Rebounds – Sydnei Archie 7.4 (Sr., F)
Assists – Tera Reed 3.9 (Sr., G) (2.7 TO per game)
URI’s Leaders:
Points – Emmanuelle Tahane 15.1 (Jr., F)
Rebounds – Emmanuelle Tahane 10.3 (Jr., F)
Assists – Marta Vargas 3.1 (Sr., G) (2.3 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 1-8
H: 1-4, A: 0-4, N: 0-0
Most Recent Matchup: 2/28/21 87-68 W at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 1 – URI
Match-up Predictor: N/A Chance of URI Winning
