Nicklas Heminger
Sports Editor
Anchorwomen’s Basketball opened the season traveling to Smith College to take part in the Tyler Tip-Off Tournament. The Anchorwomen appear as one of four teams taking part in the action last weekend, with The College of New Jersey, University of New England and the host Smith College.
Rhode Island College started the Tyler Tip-Off Tournament taking on The College of New Jersey. RIC jumped out to an early lead, but come the end of the first quarter found themselves trailing 21-15. The Anchorwomen would tighten up in the second quarter and outscore the Lions 17-13, but would find themselves trailing heading into the half 34-32. Angelina Nardolillo led the Anchorwomen in scoring heading into the half with 12 points and Izabelle Booth had a team-high 4 rebounds.
The Anchorwomen came out in the second half and went blow for blow with TCNJ before going on a 12-0 run to end the third quarter, which saw them gain the lead with two minutes and 24 seconds remaining in the quarter. RIC would hold a 56-48 lead heading into the fourth quarter. RIC would never surrender their lead in the fourth quarter and handedly close out the game by a final score of 78-68. The Anchorwomen outscored the Lions 46-34 in the second half and in a tightly contested battle, the third quarter that saw RIC outscore TCNJ 24-14 would be the difference.
Madison Medbury would lead the Anchorwomen in scoring, posting 18 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Nardolillo added an additional 13 points, with Jeniyah Jones and Antonia Corsinetti providing 13 points and 10 points respectively. Jones had a team-high eight rebounds, with six of those being offensive. Booth followed close behind with seven rebounds, while posting 6 points. The Anchorwomen only attempted seven threes, making two, as opposed to the Lions 16 attempts with 10 makes. Despite this, the Anchorwomen would make 10 more field goals than their opponents and shoot an effective 60% from the field. RIC outscored TCNJ 54-24 in the paint, and RIC’s bench provided a good spark with 17 points.
The Anchorwomen took on Smith College in the championship game of the Tyler Tip-Off Tournament. Smith College entered the game ranked seventh nationally according to D3hoops.com women's Top 25, 2022-23 and coming off a victory against UNE in the first game of the tournament.
The Anchorwomen fell behind early as Smith College was able to jump out in front thanks to a 13-2 run to open the game. RIC settled down late in the first quarter, but found themselves trailing 24-13 heading into the second quarter. The Anchorwomen and Pioneers traded baskets early in the second quarter, but a 7-0 run midway through for the Pioneers allowed them to build on their lead and take a big lead into the half. The Anchorwomen struggled to hit their shots in the first half, shooting 8-31 from the field and 4-16 from behind the three point line. These struggles from the field allowed Smith to take a 39-23 lead into the half-time break.
Booth led the Anchorwomen in scoring in the first half with nine points, and Medbury had a team-high three rebounds. The second half started with the Anchorwomen slowly cutting into the Smith lead, but a shooting slump allowed another Smith run that saw their lead balloon up to 31 before the end of the quarter. The Anchorwomen trailed Smith 61-30, after a quarter that saw RIC outscored 22-7. Both teams would trade scores throughout the fourth quarter, but the Anchorwomen would fall to Smith by a final score of 76-41.
Booth led the Anchorwomen in scoring, posting a team-high 16 points. Jones and Neleesha Meunier posted 8 and 6 points respectively. Medbury led the team in rebounds with five, while Booth and Corsinetti both added 3 rebounds each. The Anchorwomen shot 15-58, 25.9 %, from the field and 6-28, 21.4 %, from behind-the-arc. RIC saw a reversal of fate from their first game as they were outscored 32-16 in the paint by Smith and punished by the Smith College bench who posted 32 points.
The Anchorwomen moved to a 1-1 record after the weekend. RIC’s next game will be in the Murray Center versus Babson College on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.