Women’s basketball enters Region XXI play ranked No. 5 in the latest national poll

The Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team enters the weekend ranked No. 5 in the nation in the most recent NJCAA Division III poll.

The Knights are 4-1 overall as they begin their Region XXI schedule this weekend at Holyoke Community College.

As the No. 7-ranked team in the NJCAA preseason poll, CCRI opened the season with four consecutive victories, including back-to-back wins over No. 9 Rowan College of South Jersey and No. 8 Onondaga. The Knights improved to 4-0 with blowout wins over Roxbury and Hagerstown, winning by 69 and 39 points, respectively, before suffering their first loss to Division II CCBC Essex.

Sophomore center Maggie Schwab (Narragansett, RI) has led the charge offensively for the Knights, averaging a team-high 12.4 points per game, and is followed closely by sophomore guard Elizabeth Bruno (Providence, RI) at 11.6 points per game. CCRI has four players averaging double figures in scoring; in addition, Schwab has been a force on the boards with a team 9.2 rebounds per game.

As a team, CCRI is ranked fifth in the nation in scoring and field-goal percentage and fourth in three-pointers per game with 8.0 thanks in large part to the sharp shooting of sophomore guard Chloe Rayko (Coventry, RI), who has hit on a team-high 41.9 percentage of her shots from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Nysia Ortiz (Providence, RI) is averaging 10.8 points off the bench for the Knights, which includes 10 three-pointers in five games.

The Knights are off to a great start following a historic 2021–22 season in which they finished 17-7, won the Region XXI title, and earned a trip to the NJCAA D-III National Tournament for the first time since 2013.