Jan. 19, 2008

Final Stats

KINGSTON, R.I. - Atlantic 10 preseason second team selection Safi Mojidi tallied 21 of her game-high 30 points in the second session to lead Rhode Island to a 56-48 victory over the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center.

With the loss, the Bonnies remain winless in A-10 action and have dropped four of their last five games to fall to 12-6 (0-3) on the season. The Rams snapped a four-game losing streak with their first conference win to improve to 8-10 (1-2). Including today's victory, Rhode Island has captured nine of the last ten meetings between the two clubs.

Sophomore Dana Mitchell registered her 18th consecutive contest in double figures and her A-10 leading ninth game of at least 20 points with a team-high 24 against the Rams. The Fairless Hills, Pa. product also hauled down 11 rebounds her fourth double-double of the season. Mitchell notched 16 tallies in the final 20 minutes and converted a perfect 10-of-10 free throws from the stripe.

Junior Tiara Johnson and freshman Cara Gustafson were the next highest scorers with six points apiece. Johnson also added five boards and five assists on the day.

Despite holding the Rams to just 56 points for the game, the Brown and White connected on just 32.7 percent (17-52) from the floor and 13.3 percent (2-15) from three en route to their third lowest scoring output of the season with 48 points. After posting a 21-0 record heading into league play when leading at the half, the Bonnies dropped their second game in three contests after owning an advantage at intermission.

After notching six of the first eight points in the opening minutes of the second stanza to gain their biggest advantage of the game at 28-23, the Bonnies saw Rhode Island jump out on a 23-9 run to match its largest lead of the afternoon at 46-37 with 5:40 remaining in regulation.

Mojidi accounted for 15 tallies in the spurt and recorded 15 consecutive points for the Rams during a six minute stretch that boosted the home side's advantage to nine points. The Silver Spring, Md. native scored in a variety of ways throughout the crucial span, including three different possessions that resulted in three points for the Rams. Mojidi first drained three freebies at the charity stripe after being fouled behind the arc then converted a conventional three-point play before knocking down a trifecta on three consecutive trips down the floor.

However, the Brown and White refused to quit after falling behind as they retaliated with a 9-4 run over a 2:59 span to cut the Ram's lead to just four at 50-46 with 1:54 showing on the clock. Mitchell tallied eight of the club's nine points thanks to three free throws and back-to-back baskets on the blocks to pull within two possessions.

Rhode Island connected on 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal its first conference victory.

Despite a cold shooting first half from the Bonnies and a pair of scoring dry spells in the opening 20 minutes, the Brown and White entered the locker room with a 22-21 advantage at the break.

Bona connected on just 33.3 percent (9-for-27) of its shots in the opening session, but also held the Rams to a 34.6 percent clip. The Bonnies' 22 points at intermission were the team's third lowest offensive output of the season following the opening session.

Rhode Island started the game by scoring the contest's first eight points, while the Brown and White missed their first nine shots before getting on the board at the 14:03 mark thanks to junior Katelyn Murray's pull up jumper. The Rams tallied six of their first eight points in the paint off a short runner in the lane and a pair of lay ups.

Following the slow start, the Bonnies responded with 12 of the contest's next 16 points to knot the game at 12-12 each with 8:02 remaining in the opening half.

Johnson and Mitchell accounted for eight of the club's next 12 points during the spurt that was capped by Gustafson's attacking floater in the lane to bring the two teams even at 12.

However, the Brown and White failed to score for the next 3:10 stretch, while the Rams regained the lead following a Mojidi three-pointer to push the score to 15-12 in favor of Rhode Island.

The Bonnies gained their first lead of the half at 19-17 after three consecutive free throws from Johnson and Mitchell. Following two straight Rhody buckets, junior Erica Schiefen drained the team's only three-pointer of the half with 16.0 seconds remaining to give Bona a 22-21 lead heading into intermission.

The Brown and White will return home for just their second home contest in the last 14 games when Fordham visits Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.