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Maryland women’s basketball adds VCU’s Sarah Te-Biasu, Rhode Island’s Mayé Touré from transfer portal

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Maryland women’s basketball adds VCU’s Sarah Te-Biasu, Rhode Island’s Mayé Touré from transfer portal


Maryland women’s basketball capped an eventful week by securing commitments from a pair of seniors in point guard Sarah Te-Biasu of Virginia Commonwealth and power forward Mayé Touré of Rhode Island.

On Friday evening, Te-Biasu created a post on X, formerly Twitter, announcing her decision.

On Sunday, Touré went public on Instagram and shared media posts on X announcing her path to the Terps.

Te-Biasu and Touré are the second and third transfers to join Maryland this offseason. Former Rutgers shooting guard Kaylene Smikle agreed to play for the program on Tuesday.

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The 5-foot-5 Te-Biasu recently completed a senior year in which she started all 32 games and led VCU in scoring at 16.0 points per game, assists at 2.9 per game and steals at 2.0 per game. She also added 3.2 rebounds en route to being named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, becoming the first VCU player to receive that honor since Cyndy Wilks was named the Coastal Athletic Association Player of the Year in 2004.

Te-Biasu led the Rams to a single-season record for victories with 26 and the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Despite an upset loss to No. 7 seed Saint Louis in the quarterfinal round, VCU received a bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament — the school’s fifth postseason berth in the last six seasons of competition — before falling at Villanova in the first round.

Te-Biasu’s presence would allow junior and All-Big Ten first-team selection Shyanne Sellers to shift from point guard to more of a shooting guard role. Although Sellers paced the Terps (19-14, 9-9 Big Ten) in points (15.6 per game) and assists (5.5) in addition to compiling 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals, Te-Biasu could relieve some of the playmaking burden from Sellers.

Te-Biasu is a welcomed addition to the backcourt after the departures of shooting guards Jakia Turner-Brown (13.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 2023-24), Brinae Alexander (9.2 points and 2.8 rebounds) and Lavender Briggs (8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds), who exhausted their college eligibility. And freshmen Summer Bostock and Riley Nelson announced last month their decisions to enter the transfer portal.

Perhaps the only issue with Te-Biasu joining the Terps is her choice of jersey numbers. At VCU, she wore No. 0, which is the same number worn by Sellers.

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The 6-foot-2 Touré wrapped up a senior campaign in which she started all 34 games and paced Rhode Island in scoring at 12.5 points per game and rebounds at 7.6 per game. She earned a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 second team a year after being named the conference’s Most Improved Player of the Year and drawing a berth on the first team.

Touré ignited a surprising march by Rhode Island (21-14, 10-8) through the Atlantic 10 Tournament. As the No. 6 seed, the team advanced to its first appearance in the title game since 2003 before losing to top-seeded Richmond.

Touré would add some much-needed size to a Maryland frontcourt that lost 6-1 graduate student forward Faith Masonius (6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 33 games, including 16 starts) and 6-7 freshman center and Mount Carmel graduate Hawa Doumbouya (2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 13 games) to the transfer portal. The Terps do return 6-2 redshirt junior power forward and Towson transfer Allie Kubek (9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 33 games, including 17 starts) and 6-2 sophomore small forward Emma Chardon (1.5 points and 0.5 rebounds in eight games), but Chardon is returning from a torn ACL in her left knee — her second season-ending injury in as many years.

The impending arrival of Te-Biasu and Touré came after Smikle announced her intention to leave the Scarlet Knights for Maryland. The 6-0 guard averaged 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 15 games (including 14 starts) this past winter before an unspecified health issue sidelined for the remainder of the season.



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RI State Police investigating Cumberland crash

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RI State Police investigating Cumberland crash


CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.

The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.

It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.

12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.

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RI just moved its primary elections for 2026. Here’s why, and when.

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RI just moved its primary elections for 2026. Here’s why, and when.


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  • Rhode Island’s 2026 primary election day has been moved to Wednesday, September 9.
  • The change was made to avoid logistical issues with setting up polls on Labor Day.
  • Races on the ballot will include governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.

Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.

Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.

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Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.

Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Why was RI’s primary day moved?

At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.

“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.

“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.

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Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”

By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.



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Nothing Bundt Cakes opens first RI bakery

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Nothing Bundt Cakes opens first RI bakery


EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WPRI) — If you’re looking to satisfy you’re sweet tooth, look no further than Division Street.

Nothing Bundt Cakes opened its first Rhode Island bakery in East Greenwich earlier this month. The new bakery is situated within East Greenwich Square, which is also home to the Ocean State’s first Crumbl.

The bakery is known for its handcrafted specialty Bundt cakes, as well as smaller “Bundtlets,” and bite-sized “Bundtinis,” that come in a variety of flavors.

“There’s a strong sense of local pride, creativity, and community here that aligns perfectly with our values,” said Jake Williams, who owns the East Greenwich bakery. “We were drawn to the area’s vibrant small business culture and the opportunity to contribute something special.”

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Nothing Bundt Cakes is also expected to open another bakery at Chapel View in Cranston later this year.

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