By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
Springfield women’s basketball dropped a low scoring, defensively driven game to Rhode Island College in Blake Arena on Tuesday night, losing by a final score of 58-52.
The Pride’s offense hit some bumps throughout the game, as the team missed several layups and shot 28.1% from the field for the game.
Springfield had moments late in the second and third quarters where it looked like it was gaining momentum, but each of these instances were quickly followed up with a timely basket or a run from Rhode Island College.
In addition to their overall shooting percentage, the Pride struggled from beyond the arc as well. Head coach Naomi Graves believes the team’s loss can be boiled down to their missed shots, especially on their higher-percentage looks.
“We didn’t make shots and they made shots, so it’s pretty simple that way,” Graves said. “I think our kids’ legs were a little tired from the weekend, but we’ve got to still be able to gut it out and make some layups. We missed a lot of bunnies.”
While Springfield wasn’t able to convert on enough of their shots, Graves thinks it was getting quality looks. Now, it’s just a matter of getting them to fall, as they were in the Pride’s past few games.
“They were in their spot,” Graves said. “Our guards normally shoot the ball there and they just didn’t put it in tonight. They were good quality in my mind, because last weekend they made those shots.”
Although the Pride by and large had a tough time offensively, senior forward Angie Czeremcha turned in the type of performance the team is accustomed to seeing from her, finishing with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Notably, Czeremcha was the only Springfield player to shoot above 30% while taking more than two shots. For her part, Graves believes Springfield’s offensive struggles tonight can be at least partly attributed to fatigue.
“I think what’s happening is that we’re playing a lot of games, and with a lot of games comes fatigue,” Graves said. “I think from the weekend, our legs were shot.”
Even though Springfield went through its lumps on offense, it fared much better at the other end of the court, holding a talented Rhode Island College team to under 60 points.
The Anchorwomen still generated offense when they needed to, though, and a key part of their attack was senior guard Madison Medbury. Medbury filled up the stat sheet, tallying 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Senior forward Angelina Nardolillo was also instrumental for Rhode Island College in their victory. She contributed in several ways, posting four blocks while also racking up 13 points and nine rebounds.
Despite these individual performances, Graves was pleased with how the Pride played defensively. She believes that while her team wasn’t running on the freshest legs and had a hard time making shots, they overall did a solid job of competing. However, she acknowledges that there is room for improvement.
“They tried hard,” Graves said. “They didn’t always execute to the best of their ability. I think there were mental mistakes we made. But defensively, for the most part, we held this team who averages 70 points a game to 58.”
The Pride fall to 2-3 on the season with the loss. They’ll look to get back in the win column this Saturday, Nov. 23 when they travel to face Amherst at 1 p.m.
(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)