EAST PROVIDENCE — In the midst of a difficult season on the court transitioning back to the Division I ranks, the East Providence High School girls’ basketball team took a hit off it with the leave of absence request submitted by head coach Russ Ferri late last week, district athletic director Gregg Amore announced over the weekend.

Assistant athletic director, long-time EPHS softball head coach and the Townies’ former boys’ freshmen basketball head coach Rob Traverse will direct the team for the rest of the 2018-19 campaign on interim basis, Amore added.

According to the AD, a change in management at his primary job was the official reason given for the leave request by Ferri, who steps away at almost the exact mid-point of his second year as coach and with the Townies winless at 0-7 in Division I games and 2-9 overall at the time. Ferri, previously the head coach at Cranston West, guided EPHS to a 14-4 league record in his only full season a year ago, including bids into both the Division II and Open State Tournament playoff fields.

However, due to the Interscholastic League’s most two-year recent realignment, the Townies, who lost their three top scorers to graduation from last year, were bumped up to the state’s top tier and things haven’t gotten on track since. East Providence’s only wins overall so far came in non-league games to begin the season against former D-II foes Toll Gate and Exeter-West Greenwich. The Townies haven’t been competitive in league games, losing their D-I outings on average of 30 points. They’ve scored less than that amount in four of those contests. Ferri’s last game as coach was a 51-32 loss to North Kingstown on January 16.

Traverse’s first game at the helm was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at home against Rogers. Former EPHS girls’ hoops head coach and current boys’ basketball volunteer Bill McEnery will serve as his assistant. Amore said if Ferri opts not to return, the job will eventually first be posted within the East Providence School District bargaining unit, per the department’s contract with the city’s teachers, then opened up to the public at-large if no suitable candidate emerges locally.