There promises to be no shortage of intrigue for the University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team through its nonconference schedule.
Twin sisters squaring off, the America East champions, an alum on an opposing sideline, two in-state rivals visiting, one of the sports biggest current brands and two difficult Ivy League road trips — that all awaits the Rams through the first two months of the season.
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Tammi Reiss will be looking to build some momentum into the Atlantic 10 schedule and reach another conference tournament title game. How the URI coach guides her team through these 13 tests will set the tone, and it starts with an opening doubleheader at the Ryan Center on Nov. 4.
The Rams women will host Stonehill and the URI men will face Fairfield on that first day of the season.
URI encounters a bit of a different personal challenge on its first road trip, with team captain Sophie Phillips battling her twin sister, Lilly. That comes in a Nov. 8 meeting at Albany. The Great Danes are fresh off a WNIT appearance after winning 25 games.
The Rams follow with two straight at home against Maine and St. John’s, the America East champions and a Big East foe. URI dropped road games against the Black Bears and Red Storm last season. A visit to UMass Lowell on Nov. 20 renews a connection with Denise King, the River Hawks coach who was a 1,000-point scorer for the Rams from 2005-09.
Brown’s visit on Nov. 23 marks the first of two in-state rivalry matchups in Kingston this season. The Rams also host Providence on Dec. 4, part of a week that will also see the men’s teams battle. URI split with the Bears and Friars in 2023-24, winning on the East Side and losing at Alumni Hall.
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Those two state games sandwich a trip to the Cancun Challenge, where the Rams will tip off against one of the sport’s most successful programs in recent seasons. URI matches up with Iowa on Nov. 28, and the Hawkeyes will be charting a new course without supernova guard Caitlin Clark and former coach Lisa Bluder. Two returning starters and former associate head coach Jan Jenson will lead Iowa forward, and the Rams complete their stay at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya by meeting Idaho State the following day.
URI makes it three Ivy League opponents with consecutive trips to Harvard and Princeton in early December. The Rams outlasted the Crimson at home in a WNIT rematch and upset the Tigers for their first program victory over a nationally ranked opponent. Princeton finished 25-5 and reached the NCAA Tournament.
URI concludes with a Dec. 20 meeting against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Education Day. The Rams will host thousands of local students coming out of their exam break, and they’ll face a rebuilding team that went 5-25 overall last season. URI will then jump into its league schedule, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Rams went 21-14 last season and fell to Richmond in the league title game. They shook up both the roster and the coaching staff in the spring and summer months, bringing in transfers Harsimran Kaur (San Diego) and Cia Eklöf (Washington State). Associate head coach Megan Shoniker was hired as the head coach at New Hampshire and assistant coach Takima Keane wasn’t retained — Ali Jaques (George Washington) and Jen Fay (Quinnipiac) were tabbed by Reiss to fill those two openings, and Tyler Lowder comes from Indiana as video coordinator.
Game times and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
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Rhode Island women’s basketball nonconference schedule
Nov. 4 – Stonehill
Nov. 8 – at Albany
Nov. 10 – at Le Moyne
Nov. 13 – Maine
Nov. 17 – St. John’s
Nov. 20 – at UMass Lowell
Nov. 23 – Brown
Nov. 28 – Iowa (Cancun Challenge)
Nov. 29 – Idaho State (Cancun Challenge)
Dec. 4 – Providence
Dec. 7 – at Harvard
Dec. 11 – at Princeton
Dec. 20 – Saint Francis (Pa.)
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: URI women to play 13 non-conference games
