Knights Battleground Week 25

Women’s Basketball: 

The Lady Knights made their fourth consecutive National Championship and traveled back to Rochester, MN, where the team took a 7th seed into their first-round matchup against the 10th seed Jefferson Cannoneers on Wednesday, March 12th.  

Jefferson started the game hot from beyond the arc, and extended their defensive pressure full court right away to begin the game. This stunned the Knights, and after some early fouls, the Knights found themselves with key players in foul trouble, trailing 26-11 after the 1st quarter. Efforts from Jayanah Rollins and Sydney Waitekus kept the Knights within striking distance in the first half. However, with Stephanie Walker on the bench due to fouls, the Cannoneers were able to work the ball inside and out, and crash the offensive glass for easy putbacks, and the Knights trailed 41-23 at half.  

In the second half, the Knights offense started to get better looks, but could not knock down shots. Mixed with turnovers, the Knights were down 21 to end the third, but were not done fighting just yet. The fourth began with two quick Jefferson buckets, and the lead extended to 25. The Knights decided to put some extra pressure on the ball, and were playing hard man defense. Slowly, the lead began to trim away. By the 3:09 media timeout, the Knights were down just 11 points. After the timeout, the Cannoneers brought back their full court pressure and after a few buckets, the lead swelled back to 20. Jefferson advanced with a 70-50 win, despite a resilient comeback effort from Rhode Island.  

The Lady Knights moved into the consolation bracket, where they would take on the 6th seed Owens Express who was upset by #11 Onondaga in the opening round. The Knights were able to set the pace of the game early and take a 17-12 lead into the second quarter. Stephanie Walker paced the way for the Knights offense, and was unstoppable down low. She posted a game high 22 points for the Knights. Angelisse Melendez was able to knock down 3 threes in the game to bring her career total to a record 164 made threes. Jayanah Rollins chipped in 10 off the bench for the Knights. The Knights won the game 70-62.  

The Lady Knights finished the season with a record of 24-6. Sophomore Angelisse Melendez is now the all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 164. Sophomore Stephanie Walker is now the all-time rebounds leader, finishing her career with 684. The Knights were able to win a region title, and will look to go for their 5th next season.  

Softball: 

The CCRI Softball team traveled South to begin their season, traveling to South Carolina for an 8-game slate. Their first game of the season resulted in a 12-2 win vs Hagerstown Community College. The Knights were trailing 2-0 until the 5th inning where Rhode Island was finally able to break open a 5 run inning and never looked back. Sophia Chevian earned the win on the mound for the Knights with 0 earned runs on the day, while going 2-2 from the plate and added 2 RBI’s to help her own cause. Brianna Grenier was 3-4 with a 4 RBI’s and 3 runs scored. Kathryn Motta and Hannah Smith contributed 2 hits a piece.  

The Knights would then split a 2 game slate with NJCAA D2 Prairie State, losing the first game 5-3 and then bouncing back with a 4-2 win. Janina Mazzulla pitched all 7 innings and earned her first win, letting up two unearned runs and punched out 9, while only letting up 5 hits. Brianna Grenier went 3-3 with an RBI, and Sophia Valentini was 2-3 with 2 runs scored. 

Rhode Island’s third win of the trip came against Oakton Community College, winning 11-2.  Sophia Valentini earned her first win on the mound, pitching 6 innings with 1 earned run, 7 hits, and 4 K’s. Kathryn Motta and Zoe Battersby each went 3-4, while Brianna Grenier and Hannah Smith were each 2-4 with 2 RBI’s, and Kileigh Hodgkins went 1-2 with 3 RBI’s.  

The Knights dropped games to NJCAA D1’s Southern Illinois 6-2, and St. Charles 11-0. They also fell to St Claire, 12-0, and Delaware Tech, 4-0 on the trip.  

The Lady Knights will travel to take on SUNY Adirondack for their next games in a doubleheader at 1 PM and 3PM on Saturday, March 22nd.  

Baseball:  

The CCRI Knights Baseball team traveled to Florida to begin the spring season with an 8-game slate against some tough NJCAA powerhouses. They were not able to pick up any wins on the trip, but battled hard. They will resume play this weekend with two games vs Lasell College on Saturday. March 22nd at 12 and 3 PM.