Rayko Leads No. 10 Ranked Lady Knights Over UCAP!

12.10.21

Warwick, R.I. – December 10, 2021:  The No. 10 ranked (NJCAA DIII Women’s Basketball Poll) CCRI Lady Knights Basketball team hosted the Pointers of UConn-Avery Point (UCAP) on Thursday evening in a showdown of the top tow Women’s teams in Region XXI.  The Lady Knights defeated the Pointers 90-66. With the victory CCRI improves to 9-1 overall and 6-0 in Region XXI play.

The Lady Knights knew this would be a very tough battle versus UCAP that has the nation’s No.2 scorer in Adeline Smith (24ppg), the No. 4 rebounder in the country Trinity Angel (13.8rpg) and the top player in assists Francesca Foster (77 assists).  However, the No. 10 ranked Lady Knights have some weapons of their own with the nation’s top 3-point shooter Chloe Rayko (Coventry, RI) who has now made 30 3-pointers this season while shooting at amazing 51.7% from beyond the 3-pont arc. Also, Maggie Schwab (Narragansett, RI) is the Nation’s No.2 ranked player in Field Goal percentage making 65.8% of her shots. In addition, the Lady Knights have two in the top 10 in assists Michelle Moreno (Providence, RI) is third with 54 and Elizabeth Bruno (Providence, RI) is ninth with 40 assists on the season.

With two teams that like to get up and down the court you knew this was going to be a high-scoring affair and the two teams did not disappoint.  The Lady Knights outscored the Pointers 22-19 in the first quarter led by Chloe Rayko and Maggie Schwab who each scored five points apiece while co-captain Talia Thibodeau (Cranston, RI) and Ashley Lima (Cape Verde) each added four points.  The pointers were paced by Adeline Smith who scored seven points assisted by Jade Redo who added six points to the UCAP effort.

In the second quarter CCRI cranked up their defensive pressure while also being uber efficient on offense which helped them score 33 points while limiting the pointers to just 12 to take a 55-31 lead into the halftime break.  CCRI got 11 points from sharpshooter Chloe Rayko including three 3-pointers, seven from Elizabeth Bruno including a three and Maggie Schwab added six more to the tally as the Lady Knights built a comfortable lead.

In the third quarter the Lady Knights started off very well and increased their lead to 30 points.  CCRI took their foot off the gas pedal a bit which allowed Adeline Smith to get into a rhythm as she scored 11 points in the frame to help UCAP cut the lead to 17 points 73-56 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter CCRI quickly go the lead back to 25 points due in large part to the shooting of Chloe Rayko who added two more 3-pointers. From there the Lady Knights were able to coast to the 90-66 victory and remain in first place in Region XXI.

Leading the way for the Lady Knights was sharpshooter Chloe Rayko with a career-high 25 points on 7-8 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc and a perfect 4-4 from the Free Throw line. Rayko also offered three assists, two steals and three rebounds. Elizabeth Bruno had 17 points including two 3-pointers, five assist, two steals and five rebounds. Maggie Schwab scored 17 points with nine rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.  Ashley Lima added six points, 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocked shots while Kayla Saddler (West Warwick, RI) chipped in with six points five rebounds and three assists.

After the game Head Coach Doug Haynes commented: ‘Maggie (Schwab) and Ashley (Lima) both had a great game tonight. Both provided a lot of energy on the boards and on defense making it tough for UCAP inside. The outside shooting of Chloe Rayko sparked us in the second half. When she is “on” it makes our defense much stronger.” 

The next game for the Lady Knights will be Sunday the 12^th when they will host the vey potent (8-1) Mustangs of Central Maine CC at 1pm.

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The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest comprehensive community college, enrolls nearly 10,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes. Its athletic program boasts 12 varsity programs and an academic support program for all student-athletes.