Rhody Celebrates Share of A10 Regular Season Championship

Ian Steele,

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

Dayton Starters
Smith, Perez, Kozlova, Jones, Freeman

How it Happened
Rhode Island made history Saturday afternoon, clinching a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title with a dominating win over Dayton 81-57. The Rams also picked up win number 23 on the season, the 14th win in conference play, and the 13 win at the Ryan Center, all program firsts. Rhody used a dominating offense to beat Dayton for the first time since 2004.

Rhode Island (23-5, 14-2 A-10) opened the game on 9-of-13 shooting in the first quarter (69.2 percent). The Rams used a 14-0 run to close out the period a build a 17-point lead (27-10) after 10 minutes.

Rhody’s hot offense continued in the second period, and the Rams built their lead to as much as 31 (53-22) before going into the break.

Dayton (6-20, 5-10 A-10) had a 5-0 run in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to track momentum for the visiting Flyers as Rhode Island continued to build on its biggest lead. Rhody closed the period with its biggest lead of the day after Mayé Touré hit 1-of-2 free throws, 77-41 (36).

The Rams were held to four points in the fourth, but were still able to come on top with the victory, 81-57.

Inside the Box Score 

  • Rhode Island clinched a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season championship with the win.
  • Seedings for next week’s tournament will be announced once all competition around the league is completed.
  • Rhody finished the regular season 23-5, and 14-2 in the A-10. Both 23 and 14 are the most wins on the season and in the A-10 in program history.
  • The win was also number 14 in the Ryan Center, another program best.
  • Rhode Island has never won an A-10 regular season championship in program history.
  • Graduate transfer Madison Hattix-Covington led the way with 21 points on 8-of-10 from the floor, and 3-of-3 from 3-point land.
  • Junior Mayé Touré had 15 points, four rebounds, and three blocks to pair with two assists.
  • Sophomore Sophie Phillips added 13 points off the bench. She grabbed two steals.
  • Sophomore Emmi Rinat was the fourth Ram in double figures. She had 12 points, three rebonds, two assissts, and a steal off the bench.
  • The Ram bench outscored Dayton’s 35-2. For perspective, the Flyers had just six available players.
  • Rhody dominated the glass, 41-32.

Up Next
The Rams head to the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Wilmington, Delaware next week. Rhody’s fate will be determined by the league and official seedings will be released later tonight.

Categories: Sports

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