Knights Battleground Week 16

Women’s basketball: 

The Lady Knights returned to the court last week looking to protect an 11 game win streak versus a nationally ranked opponent, #15 Monroe Express, on Thursday night in Warwick. The game was a back and forth affair, both teams struggling to get any offense going early, and defensive pressure from both sides were causing turnovers left and right. At halftime, the score was 25 to 19, with the Lady Knights holding a 6 point advantage. Both teams settled in a bit better to start the second half, and by the fourth quarter, the Knights had built a double digit lead. #15 Monroe responded, cutting the lead back down to just 2 with 5 minutes to play. After a timeout, the Knights regained defensive poise and got the lead back up to 11 with just under two minutes to play. #15 Monroe was still not done, however, and after a few sloppy Knights turnovers and a couple crucial threes from the Express, it was again a one possession game with just 16 seconds to play, Knights leading 62 to 59. Monroe fouled, where the Knights split the free throws, and then got a stop on the defensive end to seal a 63 to 59 victory. The Knights were led in scoring by Stephanie Walker, who tallied 17 points to go along with 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Teammate Kellylyn Kozlin added 12 points and 6 rebounds, while Tatiana Pereira added 11 and Angelisse Melendez chipped in 10 for the Lady Knights. Tiffany Newsome led the way off the bench for Monroe, finishing with 17 points and 8 rebounds on an efficient 7-11 from the field. 

Next up for Rhode Island was Central Maine Community College this past Saturday, where the Lady Knights looked to extend a 12 game win streak. The Mustangs of Central Maine was not looking to led that happen, coming out with a full-court press to begin the game. The Mustangs continued to put immense pressure on the Knights, continuing a successful press which found many Knights trapped with the ball with nowhere to go. At halftime, the Mustangs had built a 16 point advantage, taking a 38-22 lead at halftime. The second half was seemingly looking to be more of the same for Rhode Island. Central Maine’s pressure was causing mayhem, and the Knights could not find the bottom of the net. The lead swelled to as many as 25 in the fourth quarter with about 9 minutes remaining. That was when Angelisse Melendez caught fire from deep, knocking down 3 three pointers in a row, as well as a few mid range jumpers, and buckets from Kellylyn Kozlin, Tatiana Pereira, and Stephanie Walker, cut the Mustangs lead to just 6 points with 2:53 to go. Central Maine would then knock down two key shots, and it proved to be to much for the Knights to overcome, falling 69-58, breaking their 12 game win streak. 

The Lady Knights will take on Holyoke Community College this Thursday, January 16th, at 6:00 PM at home in Warwick, followed by a trip to Framingham State on Saturday, January 18th, at 12:00 PM.

Men’s Basketball: 

CCRI Men’s Basketball returns to the hardwood this week holding a 6-6 record, good for 6th place in the Region XXI standings. They will face Holyoke Community College at home on Thursday, January 16th, at 8:00 PM, followed by a trip to Quincy College to take on the Region’s #1 Seed on Saturday at 12:00 PM.