It came down to defense. Six seeded Rhode Island, limited third seed Saint Joseph’s to 20 second half points en route to a 57-47 upset. Friday’s Atlantic Ten Women’s quarterfinal at the Henrico Sports & Events Center saw the Rams improve to 20-13 (10-8) while Saint Joseph’s is now 26-5 (15-3).
Possessions: 59. A slower more deliberate tempo which, on this night, better suited Tammi Reiss’ Rams.
Offensive efficiency: Rhode Island 100, Saint Joseph’s 78
Four Factors:
| Rhode Island | Saint Joseph’s | |
| eFG Pct. | 45 | 37 |
| FT Rate | 27 | 19 |
| OREB Pct. | 25 | 22 |
| TO Rate | 9 | 15 |
Leading scorers:
Rhode Island- Dee Dee Davis 22 points. The 5’8” guard shot 7 of 14 from the floor while pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.
Saint Joseph’s- Laura Ziegler 12 points.
The difference. Defense. Cindy Griffin’s Hawks average a 101 offensive efficiency. They were held considerably below their norm due to Rhode Island’s defensive effort. In a game featuring five ties and four lead changes, the Hawks led 27-25 at the half. Rhode Island answered ‘winning’ the all important early minutes of the third period by a 6-2 count. A four minute scoreless drought in the final stanza sealed the Hawks’ fate.
With all the talk on defense, not to be lost was the Ram’s only turning the ball over six times for an outstanding 9% turnover rate.
Next. Rhode Island advanced to face defending champion Saint Louis in the semifinals. The Billikens were another upset winner eliminating second seeded VCU. Top seed Richmond, the lone higher seed to avoid a quarterfinal upset, faces Duquesne.
“I thought there were seven teams that could truly win this league…In my five years I thought this was the toughest year.” – Tammi Reiss
