University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Virginia
Spiders Conquer Cavaliers, 77-72
11/19/2001 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2001
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond women's basketball team earned its first win over the University of Virginia in 11 career attempts as the Spiders knocked-off the Cavaliers, 77-72, at the Robins Center Monday night. The score see-sawed throughout the first half, but with 7:19 to go in the first stanza, the Spiders took the lead and never trailed again. Three Spiders scored in double figures as the team evened its record to 1-1.
The game started out sloppy as both teams missed shots from close range and the first basket didn't come until nearly three minutes into the contest. The Spiders would then get two three-pointers from junior guard Elise Ryder (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) and then sophomore guard Amber Goppert (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy) within a two-minute span to build a four-point lead. After the Cavaliers went ahead 25-24 with 7:32 to go in the first, Richmond would then grab the lead and take a five-point advantage into halftime as the team shot 6-of-11 on three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
The Spiders held a slim lead through most of the second half as Richmond's lead dwindled to one on three separate occasions. The Cavaliers got a basket from freshman guard LaTonya Blue to cut the lead to three with 3:49 to play. After a Richmond 30-second timeout, Ryder hit the biggest shot of the game as she got a wide open look at a three that she drilled to give Richmond the six-point advantage. A free throw by Ebony Tanner (Garner, N.C./Ravenscroft), who had a team-high 10 rebounds, and then a basket by Goppert built the lead to 71-62 with 1:48 to play, the Spiders' largest lead of the night. Richmond continued to maintain the lead by making free throws down the stretch, but Virginia cut the lead to three with three seconds to play. Ryder then calmly made two free throws to ice the game as she finished the contest with a career-high tying 20 points, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.
Goppert set her career-high with 21 points as she knocked down 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and junior forward Cammy Desmond (Midlothian, Va./James River) chipped in with 11 points and five boards. The Spiders finished the game shooting an impressive 10-of-19 from three-point territory. Virginia freshman forward Brandi Teamer had a huge game as she recorded 26 points and 13 rebounds.
The win now boosts the Spiders' career win total to 631, which is the ninth-best all-time in Division I women's basketball history. It also stops the 10-game losing streak to the Cavaliers and gives Richmond its first victory over its state-foe since the teams first met in 1979. Up next for Richmond is the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam from November 24-26 as the Spiders will face Kansas State, Western Michigan, and #22 Arizona State.
