Nicklas Heminger
Sports Editor
Rhode Island College Basketball’s regular season is now over. The Anchormen and Anchorwomen finished out their regular seasons by traveling to Plymouth State to take on the Panthers.
The Anchorwomen entered the action posting a 21-3 record on the season, going 14-1 in Little East Conference play. Plymouth State posted a 5-17 record and with no wins in LEC matchups.
The Anchorrwomen jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before Plymouth State would find a successful score. The early five point difference separated the two teams for most of the quarter, before a 11-0 run with less than three minutes left gave the Anchorwomen a 16 point lead. The Panthers would score just before the end of the quarter, but the Anchorwomen held a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Plymouth State opened up the scoring in the second quarter, but RIC answered back quickly with three baskets of their own to expand on their lead. RIC’s lead grew to 23 following a quick, nine point run halfway through the second quarter. The lead would stay this way, as the Anchorwomen entered the half time break up 45-23.
Izabelle Booth led the Anchorwomen in scoring and rebounds during the first half with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Jeniyah Jones and Neleesha Meunier scored 9 and 7 points respectively.
The Anchorwomen opened up the third quarter with three straight buckets from Angelina Nardolillo to push the lead to 30. This lead grew to as many as 34 points during the quarter, but Plymouth State cut the lead to the 30 point mark to end the third quarter. RIC led 64-34 heading into the last quarter.
Plymouth State cut the lead down to 23 points with seven minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, but this would be as close as they ended up getting. The Anchorwomen defeated the Panthers by a final score of 74-49. The Anchorwomen finished with five scorers in double figures. Nardolillo finished with a team-high 17 points, while Meunier had 13 points of her own. Jones contributed 11 points, while Booth and Madison Medbury each had 10 points.
The Anchorwomen now enter the LEC Conference Tournament as the two seed and await the winner of Keene State/Umass Dartmouth. That game will be hosted at RIC on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Anchormen sat at 8-15 on the year, with a 6-9 record in the LEC before facing the Panthers. Plymouth State entered the game 9-15 on the season, with three wins in LEC play. The Panthers opened the game up, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead. The Anchormen traded baskets back and forth with the Panthers as they tried to jump out in front. RIC tied the game up with eight minutes remaining in the first half, before claiming their first lead 18-17 with six and a half minutes remaining in the half. Plymouth State grabbed the lead right back, but a quick 6-0 run from the Anchormen saw RIC grab the lead back 29-27. The Anchormen held the lead into halftime, taking a 34-31 lead into the break.
Ousmane Kourouma posted a double-double in the first half leading the Anchormen in scoring and rebounds with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Destine Haywood-Gomes scored nine points.
The Panthers snuck back out in front a little more than a minute into the second half, but RIC would once again grab the lead back a short time later. Plymouth State jumped out to a seven-point lead, the largest lead since the 12 minute mark in the first half, thanks to three straight three pointers. The Anchormen overcame this seven point deficit and tied the game up with 10 minutes remaining. RIC grabbed their first lead since the 18-minute mark of the second half, thanks to a three-pointer from Haywood-Gomes. The Panthers answered back with a 13-2 run that saw Plymouth State jump ahead 65-57, the largest lead of the game. The Anchormen would respond and overcome the eight-point lead, by Kourouma sinking a free-throw with no time remaining to force overtime.
The Anchormen and Panthers traded baskets in overtime, but a jumper with two seconds remaining gave the Panthers the edge. Plymouth State defeated RIC by a final of 78-75. The Anchormen finished with three players scoring in double-figures, with Kourouma leading the way by scoring 26 points along with 16 rebounds. Anthony Rivera finished with 16 points and Haywood-Gomes had 12.
The Anchormen’s season concluded with this loss to Plymouth State, finishing with a 8-16 record overall and a 6-10 record in LEC play.