Jenfrin Rodriguez
Sports Editor
After a 76-49 victory in their most recent outing against Western Connecticut State, the team’s win streak is now 13 games. After the the ladies went 1-3 to start the season while having high expectations of repeating as Little East Conference Champions, hope was looking grim for the fans. However, it is not uncommon for a championship team to struggle the following season. This can be attributed to having winners fatigue, where simply winning too much can become an issue for some. Factors include overlooking the regular season and looking ahead towards the playoffs too soon, or simply just not being able to live up to the high expectations placed on them.
The team has gotten back to their roots and emphasized the factors that made them successful the year prior. They always have a massive advantage in the rebounding battle, and when they control the boards it is almost impossible to beat. Western Connecticut lost that fight with only 28 rebounds compared to 51 rebounds. The Anchorwomen also have been successful at their pressuring defense and the ability to generate turnovers and easy points. RIC had 16 steals while Western Connecticut had 6 more turnovers of their own, totaling 22.
While this is a group of players that has a knack at times for becoming extremely reliant on the three point shot, this game showed they do not necessarily need it to compete. As a whole they shot a respectable 35% on 6-17 shots total.
When the team is dominant inside they are almost impossible to stop. RIC had 44 points in the paint compared to 20 by Western Connecticut. Collectively, not many teams have been able to stop them from getting what they want. If they are on their game, the task of stopping them from inside and outside becomes that more difficult.
Over seven players on the team scored at least five points while three out of those seven were able to get into double digits. Performances like this show great depth by having multiple players who can step up when someone else may be having an off night or is getting focused on.
This game was a dominant all around showing from the Anchorwomen. They scored 46 bench points and also had a lead as large as 28 at one point. From that moment, it was cruise control the whole way through.
RIC will play their next game on Wednesday against Eastern Connecticut State at home in the Murray Center as they look to make it 14 straight wins.
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