Heading into Wednesday’s 11:30 a.m. matchup in Kingston, R.I., the Massachusetts and Rhode Island women’s basketball teams are looking to end its respective losing streaks and pick up a rare conference win.

While the Rams (6-16, 1-8 Atlantic 10) enter the game with a five-game losing streak, the Minutewomen (3-19, 0-8 A-10) are trying to avoid losing their 13th consecutive game.

“I think if (the team) didn’t feel pressure, they wouldn’t be human,” UMass coach Sharon Dawley said.

Despite these pressures, Dawley said that the team is confident heading into Wednesday because she thinks that her team “matches up” better against URI compared to recent opponents.

In particular, one area where Dawley said she expects improvement in is rebounding. The Minutewomen were outrebounded 60-35 in their 89-76 loss to George Washington last Wednesday, but Dawley seems more confident heading into her team’s matchup with the Rams, who she says possesses about the same size inside.

“The last couple of games, we’ve faced incredibly long and athletic people inside who have really killed us on the boards,” she said. “Our ability to box out should improve greatly on Wednesday, but we’ll see. We have to be consistent about boxing out.”

In addition, Dawley said that efficiency against URI’s three-two zone defense will be a key factor to the Minutewomen’s success. According to Dawley, the continued aggressiveness of junior Kim Pierre-Louis and sophomore Rashida Timbilla may help in attacking the Rams.

Pierre-Louis, who leads UMass with 12.8 points per game, has scored at least 10 points in eight of the team’s nine games since A-10 play began.

“If she continues to be aggressive … then I think she’ll continue to score in double figures,” Dawley said. “She’s a pass-first kind of kid, and that’s what we’re trying to get her to fight through and look for her own (shots) a little bit more.”

Pierre-Louis agreed and added that her confidence has been the key to her recent success.

“I don’t really think that there’s anyone that could really guard me one-on-one in our conference,” Pierre-Louis said.

Timbilla is coming off a team-leading 16-point performance in the Minutewomen’s loss to GW.

“Coach Dawley has been harping on me to be more aggressive,” Timbilla said. “I think sometimes I just settle and just pass the ball, and that hasn’t been helping us lately, so I have to just be more aggressive to help our team try to get a victory.”

Timbilla added that getting off to a quick start will be important against the Rams.

“Obviously, we have been starting out a little slow lately, so we have to get off to a good start and rebound, box out and play some good defense,” Timbilla said. “We feel that if we can do all those things, we should be able to get a win.”

On the defensive side, Dawley said that limiting URI leading scorer Tayra Melendez (12.9 points per game) is critical.

Dawley said that senior Kiara Bomben will get the assignment of guarding Melendez, who the coach described as “a good overall player who is a little on the quick side.”

Henry, Tarnachowicz updates

The Minutewomen have not been at full strength due to the limited play of sophomore Nola Henry (flu) and the absence of junior Paula Tarnachowicz (ankle).

Henry has seen decreased minutes due to lingering effects of a flu that she caught prior to UMass’ game against Virginia Commonwealth on Jan. 18. Dawley said that she is “close to 100 percent” but must work her way back into the starting rotation.

“When you’re out that long, you lose your spot to someone,” Dawley said, “so now it’s a matter of getting her spot back.”

Tarnachowicz injured her ankle in the second half against Dayton on Jan. 22. Dawley said she is participating in practice and has made “a lot of progress.” However, she is still considered day-to-day and her status for Wednesday’s game is unknown.

Anthony Chiusano can be reached at [email protected] and can be followed on Twitter @a_chiusano24.