Midterm grades for Rhode Island's women's basketball teams; who's at the top of the class?
The most important third of the women’s college basketball season is yet to come.
February’s arrival brings with it a closer look ahead to conference tournaments and March Madness. That’s the proving ground for programs hoping to leave a legacy.
Who in the state is in position to make its respective mark? Some are in better shape than others. Brown currently has an inside track on a first bid to Ivy Madness under Monique LeBlanc and Rhode Island is talented enough compared to its peers to make some noise. Bryant and Providence would be fighting uphill — the Bulldogs in likely road games, the Friars with national power Connecticut looming — in their pursuits of automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
What to make of these upcoming critical weeks? Let’s start with grades to this point — a midterm of sorts as it concerns league play.
Brown (13-7, 4-3 Ivy League): A-
The Bears would be making a first trip to Ivy Madness under their current coach if the season ended today. Destiny is in their hands with respect to securing an eventual top four finish in the league.
Brown won consecutive games against Georgetown and Providence during a strong nonconference run. That helped set the stage for a 4-1 league start, including a season sweep of Dartmouth and a road win over Yale.
The schedule now takes a turn for the difficult. Weekend losses at Penn and Princeton dragged the Bears back toward the pack, and the next five games are brutal — at Columbia (Friday night), the Tigers and Quakers at home, at Harvard and the Lions at home. Survive that gauntlet and Brown could maintain its postseason challenge all the way to final home games with Cornell and the Bulldogs.
Bryant (11-12, 4-6 America East): B
Thursday’s victory at New Hampshire was significant. The Bulldogs have now surpassed their conference win total from 2022-23 — they'd already jumped ahead of their overall tally from last season, bettering the three and nine they collected, respectively.
Mariona Planes Fortuny has been one of the best players in the league. Mia Mancini is among the leading contenders for conference Rookie of the Year — the former Wheeler School standout has been an immediate hit as a perimeter shooting threat. That 1-2 punch has been enough to keep Bryant competitive most nights.
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This grade would be higher if not for five losses in games decided by two possessions or less — three of those came in league play, two of them against UMBC. Prevailing in a greater share of those and continuing to add talent will be the next steps.
Providence (11-13, 5-6 Big East): B+
Why a tick higher for the Friars than the Bulldogs? A more difficult schedule both in the nonconference and in league play. Otherwise, Erin Batth and Bryant coach Lynne-Ann Kokoski are walking similar paths as first-year leaders.
Providence balanced a loss at Brown with a home win over Rhode Island. The Friars opened league play with a first 2-0 start in more than a decade — Seton Hall was receiving votes in the national polls and DePaul had won more than 20 straight against Providence. They’ve also played a significant chunk of time without projected starting backcourt Kylee Sheppard (undisclosed) and Grace Efosa (left hand).
Can the Friars surge to the finish? There could be a path to a .500 league record and a chance to advance at the conference tournament.
Rhode Island (15-10, 7-5 Atlantic 10): C
On the surface, yes, you might think this is unfair. The Rams have the best record on this list. But they entered this 2023-24 campaign with the highest expectations.
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The preseason Atlantic 10 favorite will surrender its regular-season conference title and has questions to answer before the tournament next month in suburban Richmond, Va. URI was coming off a pair of WNIT berths and scheduled aggressively in the nonconference with a potential at-large NCAA Tournament selection in play.
Losses at Maine and Providence stung. A home defeat against Quinnipiac was a true shocker — the Bobcats remain a sub-.500 team overall. The Rams have battled inconsistency and injuries throughout, with its lineup combinations failing to mesh at times and a trio of projected starters — Tenin Magassa (shoulder), Anaelle Dutat (NCAA eligibility) and Teisha Hyman (leg) — missing multiple games apiece.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Midterm grades for the state's Division I women's basketball teams
