PHILADELPHIA – Tied 44-44 with 54 seconds remaining in overtime, Rhode Island's Catherine Cairns hit a three to give the Rams a lead they wouldn't again relinquish to hand the Saint Joseph's women's basketball squad a heartbreaking 50-48 loss at URI's Ryan Center on Sunday afternoon. The Hawks now stand at 5-2 overall (3-2 A-10) after splitting the weekend (76-69 win over UMass on Friday) while the Rams improve to 7-5 overall (7-2 A-10).

SJU had scrapped back to outscore URI by seven points, 10-3, in the fourth quarter; trailing by five with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, the Hawks scored five unanswered points, capped by a pair of free throws on one end and the eventual overtime-forcing block on the other from sophomore forward Gabby Smalls (:29).

Entering the game as the A-10 leader in three-point field goal defense, the Hawks held the Rams to just 14.8-percent shooting (4-of-27 from deep) but struggled themselves from beyond the arc, draining just two three-pointers in 11 attempts on the afternoon.

"We had a rough shooting day, but our defense put us in a position to win the game," said head coach Cindy Griffin of the Hawks' 33.9-percent shooting (19-of-56) from the field. "Unfortunately, it was not enough today, but there are certainly a lot of takeaways that we will learn from."

Rebounds also hindered the Hawks' performance, as the Rams held a 44-35 advantage, which included 16 offensive boards.

In her first game back since January 10, Smalls led the Crimson and Gray in scoring with 11 points (4-of-6 FG) to go with a team-high two blocks and four rebounds, the first of which marked the 200th of her career; the sophomore forward now has 203 career rebounds through 34 career games for 5.97 boards per contest.

Junior guard Katie Jekot added nine points, including all four of SJU's overtime points, and a game-high three steals while junior forward Katie Mayock was impactful with seven points (3-of-5 FG), including a big three-pointer in the third, a team-high seven rebounds, and a team-high two blocked shots in 31 minutes off the bench.

How It Happened
Q1 & Q2 – Rhode Island used a 7-0 scoring run and 13-5 advantage in rebounds to take a slight 13-8 edge by the end of the first quarter before opening the second with a 10-3 run to extend its lead by 12 points, 23-11, at the 5:16 mark. The Hawks would then go on a 7-0 run of their own as sophomore guard Kaliah Henderson (4:59), Mayock (4:21), and Jekot (1:56) hit back-to-back-to-back lay-ups and graduate student guard Alayna Gribble hit the first of two free throws to close to within five, 23-18. URI took advantage of their fifth offensive board of the half to put back a lay-up with one second before the halftime break en route to the 25-18 halftime score.

Q3 – The Rams worked their lead out to 12 points, 39-27, with 2:44 to play in the third before Smalls took over, scoring five straight on two very contested lay-ups to close SJU's deficit to seven, 39-32, entering the final 10:00.

Q4 – The Hawks battled back to outscore the Rams by seven points, 10-3, in the fourth quarter; trailing by five with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, senior guard Mary Sheehan hit a pair of free throws (3:52), Mayock pulled down an offensive board and put back the lay-up (2:42), and Smalls hit both of her free throws (:29) before going on to block URI's final shot attempt with one second left before the buzzer.

OT – Tied 44-44, URI struck first with a lay-up at the 3:13 mark, but Jekot responded with a lay-up of her own (1:29). Cairns then hit a three with 54 ticks to go, and despite the Hawks getting back to within one - twice - the Rams would hold on as SJU's final offensive possession with 11 seconds left came up short.