Rhode Island junior guard Safi Mojidi hasn’t played in Washington since she was a freshman. Tonight the Silver Spring native and Bullis Prep grad will have familiar faces in the stands when the Rams face No. 11 George Washington — friends, coaches and former teammates — but no immediate family will be among that group.
Mother Khadijat Mojidi is headed to Chicago to see Nofi Mojidi, Safi’s fraternal twin, who stars for the women’s basketball team at the University of Chicago. The Maroons, ranked No. 11 in Division III, put their undefeated 14-0 record on the line against Carnegie Mellon on Friday.
“I have a twin sister so I obviously have to share,” said Safi Mojidi, also a compelling attraction despite the Rams’ 4-14 overall record.
In the last five games, Safi Mojidi is averaging 21.6 points and 5.0 rebounds. She’s led Rhode Island to two wins in their first three Atlantic 10 Conference contests, which helped dull the pain of 11 losses in the first 12 games of the season. She scored her 1,000th-career point on the way to a career-high matching 31 against Duquense.
“For our team right now, it’s paramount that she’s successful. She’s been a leader since her freshman year,” said Rams head coach Tom Garrick. “She doesn’t ride the ebbs and the flows of the game like most kids do. Safi has a vision of what she needs to do and how she needs to do it and she just goes about it in a business-like fashion.”
It’s a familiar turn for Mojidi, who along with her twin sister helped led Bullis to four Independent Schools League titles in four years. That includes her senior season, when two key future Division I players, Brittany Mitch (Duke) and LaTanya Copeland (Seton Hall) transferred from Bullis to other schools.
“It was like stepping into shoes that I wasn’t ready for, but the people who put me in that position obviously saw something from me that showed that I could lead the team or put up big numbers and find my teammates,” said Mojidi, who also played softball and tennis in high school.
The Atlantic 10 second team selection relishes the spotlight, saying she’s never shied away from a last-second shot or a chance for a big defensive play. But she doesn’t call herself “athletic.”
“[Nofi’s] still a two-sport athlete in college. I’m a basketball player. She’s a basketball player and a track runner,” said Safi Mojidi. “When I look at her, that’s my vision of athleticism.”
RHODE ISLAND (4-14, 2-1 A-10) AT NO. 11 GEORGE WASHINGTON (14-2, 3-0)
» When: Tonight, 7
» Where: Charles E. Smith Center
