NIT Tournament – Super 16
Lavietes Pavilion, Cambridge, MA
Thursday, March 23, 2023
7:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN3
App: Varsity Network
Previews
Harvard Fan Forum
Another Potential Fan Forum
The University of Rhode Island women’s team sets another record Monday night by winning their second consecutive (& second ever) postseason game & advancing to the WNIT Super 16. Such an exciting season for Tammi Reiss & her Rams. Rhody will now head north to Cambridge to take out the Harvard Crimson. This game is a rematch of the first game of the season where the Rams lost at Harvard by 14 points. Hopefully the Rams can exact some revenge by winning this contest.
Harvard is led by unanimous All-Ivy First Team sophomore Harmoni Turner. Last year’s Rookie of the Year is a great all-around player who will be a match-up problem for the Rams. At the end of the regular season, Turner finished fourth in the conference in scoring (16.2), ninth in rebounding (5.7), fourth in assists (3.9), third in steals (2.6), & second in free throw percentage at 84.4 percent. When these teams squared off to open the season, she went for 31/5/5. Oh by the way, in a blowout win against Towson in the opening round of the WNIT she went for a triple double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. She was just two rebounds shy of another triple double against UMass Monday night when she went for 15/8/11. Some good news for Rhody is that she is a bit turnover prone with about three and a half per game & she had 7 against Rhody. Conversely, she has been taking better care of the ball as of late, with just 9 total turnovers over her last four games. Along with Turner, another player to keep an eye on is Lola Mullaney. The All-Ivy Second Team junior is second on the team in scoring with 14.4 per game & is the team’s biggest threat from deep. Her & guard McKenzie Forbes (13.8 points per game) are the Crimson’s version of Sophie Phillips & Dolly Cairns from behind the arc. The Harvard duo hit a combined 140 threes while the Rhody duo hit a combined 113 threes (with Phillips playing minimally to start the season & Cairns missing 4 games due to a concussion). Another player to keep an eye on is Elena Rodriguez, who is fourth on the team in scoring with 11 per contest. Although listed as a guard, she is 6’ 2” (same height as Toure) and is leading the Crimson in rebounding at almost 7 per game. As you can see Harvard has a very balanced scoring attack with four players averaging 11 or more.
After struggling from the field in the first round of the WNIT, Rhody’s offense started clicking on all cylinders against Richmond Monday night. The Rams hit 13 threes which is tied for the fifth most in a single game in program history. What I found even more impressive was that they had 21 assists on 26 field goals. Sophie Phillips had a hell of a game, scoring 20 on 7 of 10 shooting. I want to give a special shoutout to freshman Anaelle Dutat. She had some big offensive rebounds Monday night which led to extended possessions. In her last 7 games she is averaging over 9 rebounds per game.
Can Rhody get the road win in Cambridge? This is going to be a tall order. The Rams have lost 7 in a row at Harvard with the last win coming in December of 1995. Harvard’s offense is playing at a very high-powered pace, averaging over 90 points per game in the postseason so far. Can the Rams slow down Harmoni Turner & the Crimson? If they play like they did against Richmond, they can get the win. If they play like the did the opening round against Boston University, it is very unlikely. Winner of this game will get the winner of the Syracuse vs Columbia. If both road teams win it would be a Rhode Island vs Syracuse Great 8 game where Tammi Reiss goes up against her former employer as she was an assistant coach from 2015-2019. Let’s make that happen. My prediction URI 73 – Harvard 70. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
19-11, 9-5 in the Ivy League
13-14, 7-7 in the Ivy League (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 78 (71)
RPI: 54 (48)
Leaders:
Points – Harmoni Turner 16.2 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Elena Rodriguez 6.9 (Soph. G)
Assists – Harmoni Turner 4.4 (Soph., G) (3.4 TO per game)
URI Leaders:
Points – Maye Toure 13.5 (Jr., F)
Rebounds – Maye Toure 8.5 (Jr. F)
Assists – Sayawni Lassiter 4.6 (Sr., G) (2.4 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 9-11
H: 7-4, A: 2-7, N: 0-0
Most Recent Matchup: 11/7/22 88-74 L at Harvard
Most Recent Win Streak: 1 – Harvard