Starting strong

The Rocket women’s basketball team defeated the Rhode Island Rams by a score of 65-50, to bring their overall record to 2-0 on the season.

The Rockets were led by second-year guard Mikaela Boyd, who scored 15 points on the night, a career high. First-year guard Mariella Santucci also had an impressive night, attributing 13 points to the Rocket victory. The Rockets used the fast break to their advantage, outscoring the Rams 14-0 on the fast break.

“Well, this year we really emphasized getting into passing lanes and getting out and pressuring people, so our goal is to get out and make the other team turn the ball over as much as possible,” said Boyd. “We are trying to be more aggressive this year, and it’s paying off. I think we’re making them turn the ball over more. Their turnovers lead to easy transition points.”

The first quarter was the closest quarter in the game, with the Rockets ending the quarter with a 14-10 lead over the Rams. The Rams held their only lead of the game in this quarter, until the Rocket’s took ahold of the game and never let go.

The second quarter saw the UT women’s team explode to a 36-21 lead. This advantage was led by an impressive ten points from Boyd, and then another nine points from Santucci. The Rockets were able to garner such an impressive lead by taking advantage of Rhode Island’s 13 turnovers and converting them into fast break opportunities.

The Rockets didn’t let up after the first half, opening with a big three-point shot from Santucci. The Rockets extended their lead to a huge 18-point difference, 50-32. The Rockets held onto their lead for the rest of the game very easily, ending with a final of 65-50.

“We were very happy to get this victory tonight against this very strong Atlantic-10 team. We watched them on film quite a bit and was very impressed with their point guard. I was nervous about their size inside, especially knowing we were one down in the post with Kayla being out. So we knew we had a shorter rotation. I was a little concerned we might get in some foul trouble,” commented coach Tricia Cullop after the Rocket victory. “I was really impressed with our players’ composure, the fact that we continued to extend the lead in the first half, and, that again, in the second half we did what we needed to do to get the win.”

This win arrived as the Rockets come together after a serious injury to third-year forward Mae Tshitenge, which put her out for the rest of the season, and another injury to first-year forward Tanaya Beacham, who will be out for a couple more weeks.
The Rockets play their next game against Cleveland State University in Cleveland this Saturday at noon.

The score was corrected from 65-15 to 65-50