Rhode Island College basketball teams near the end of the regular season: a pre-playoff overview
- Timothy Yean, Sports Editor
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Tim Yean
Sports Editor
It has been an eye-catching year for both men’s and women’s basketball at Rhode Island College, albeit for very different reasons.Â
The Anchorwomen, after a 10-5 start that included a 1-3 skid in the middle of January, have soared to eight straight victories, including a 70-62 home win against the previously-top-25 University of Maine. The men however, after the 7-3 start to Little East Conference play, have lost four straight in the league to drop them to .500 and potentially bring them to the brink of playoff elimination.
Where they stand
As of Feb. 14, the men hold the final spot in the LEC tournament with a previously-mentioned 7-7 record in-conference. The team in position to potentially steal the final spot would be the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The Corsairs are seventh in the conference with a 6-8 record in-conference. The Anchormen won both their matchups this season against UMass Dartmouth and gave RIC preference in who gets the final seed if both teams were to end up with the same record at the end of the season. Eastern Connecticut State University is another team to look out for in the upcoming week. The Warriors are fifth in the conference with a 7-7 record plus a 15-8 overall record which gives them the edge over head coach Sam Ferry’s Anchormen.
Women’s head coach Jenna Cosgrove’s squad have already clinched top-three seeding in the tournament, and stand second in the LEC with a 12-2 overall record. Southern Maine’s 14-1 conference mark has shut down the opportunity for the Anchorwomen to become outright regular season champions, but they still have the chance to be co-champions with the Huskies if RIC wins both of their final games and USM gets shocked by a 2-12 Vermont State University Castleton on Feb. 21, the final day of the LEC regular season. Keene State College sits third with a 10-4 conference record and hopes to snatch the Anchorwomen’s bye week, which could come down to Feb. 21’s contest against RIC on home court for the Owls.
Players to watch
Third-year guard Abby Wager has been lights out for the Anchorwomen, doing it all for coach Cosgrove leading the team in points, rebounds and assists. The Southern New Hampshire University transfer has reached double-digit figures in all but five of her games as an Anchorwoman, and recently posted a career-high 29 points in a 70-62 win over Southern Maine on Feb. 4. She has also become the top defender for RIC, leading the team with 46 blocks and steals apiece. Third-year guard Meagan Schuermann will also be a key cog down the road as she’s tied for Wager with 14.9 points per game. Second-year guards Shalyn Smith and Jaina Yekelchik are great complements in both scoring and playmaking and first-year forward Eva Monahan has played well inside. Third-years Maggie McKitchen and Emma Tenters and second-year Nichole Ljuljic round out the current main rotation.
Men’s hoops sees an offense circled as of late between third-year guard/forward Xavier Mendez and fourth-year guard Tyriek Weeks. Mendez has averaged 16.7 points per game and has been the team’s leading rebounder. Weeks has averaged 14.3 ppg and leads RIC in blocks. First-year guard Noe Bom got off to a hot start to the season but has slowed down lately, but remains a key part of coach Ferry’s starters. Third-year guard CJ Wilson runs the offense and leads the team in assists alongside being a pesky defender, leading the team in steals. Fourth-year Loudon Chupas, third-year Mike Paquette, second-year Jalen Claude and first-year Kyle Prete see action on the floor with Chupas a part of the usual starting five and the others part of the rotation.
The final games
The final home conference doubleheader of the regular season will be on Feb. 18 against Western Connecticut State (men’s 10-4 LEC, women’s 4-10 LEC). A win for RIC men’s should lock down a playoff spot, while a win for the women would guarantee a bye in the LEC tournament. The women's game will start at 5:30 p.m., with the men's beginning approximately at 7:30 p.m.
The regular season will conclude on Feb. 21 on the road at Keene State (men’s 9-5 LEC, women’s 10-4 LEC). Women will begin action at 1 p.m. with the men following at about 3. p.m.