University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
American
Spiders Slip Past American, 93-88
02/25/2001 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2001
RICHMOND, Va. - Spider senior forward Candice Edwards (Newport News, Va./Menchville) delivered a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double and junior point guard Michele Koclanes (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) added 19 points and 11 assists to pace the University of Richmond women's basketball team to a 93-88 victory over American in Colonial Athletic Association action at the Robins Center.
The Spiders (16-11, 10-5 CAA) extended its win streak to three games and have won six of their last seven contests. With 16 victories on the campaign, Richmond has equaled its highest win totals overall and in conference play since the 1996-97 season, when the Spiders were 16-11 on the season and 10-6 in league action.
Balanced scoring was again instrumental in the victory as Edwards and Koclanes were joined in double figures by senior forward Carolyn Constantakis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) who had 17 points, while freshman guard Amber Goppert (Constable, N.Y./Franklin Academy) posted 14 points. In addition to her point output, Edwards came away with six steals, matching a season high.
American freshman guard Kaitlin Schuyler tied for game-high scoring honors with 20 points. Senior forward Jina Lewis (19 points) was one of five players to reach double figures for the Eagles, along with sophomore forward Maria Werries (14 points), senior forward Jamie Dowd (12 points) and freshman guard Anastasia Goncharova (career-high 11 points). American (4-21, 2-12 CAA) shot 58.6 percent from the field for the game, including 62.5 percent in the second half. However, the Spiders forced the Eagles into 26 turnovers.
With the Spiders leading 80-78 with 3:18 remaining, Richmond scored seven unanswered points in a span of 21 seconds to decide the game. Edwards got things started, hitting a mid-range jumper to put the Spiders up 82-78 with 3:09 to go, Goppert made a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass, converted a layup and the Spiders led 84-78. Constantakis capped off the surge, playing the passing lane perfectly on the next inbounds play. She connected on a layup, was fouled and completed the three-point play to balloon Richmond's advantage to nine points at 87-78 with under three minutes remaining.
A 13-6 run midway through the first half propelled Richmond to a 45-34 bulge at intermission as Edwards paced all scorers with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. The Spiders led 62-54 midway through the second half, but American refused to go away, scoring seven straight points to close the gap to 62-61 with 9:10 on the clock. Werries provided five points in that stretch. Richmond opened its margin back up to eight points at 75-67 before the Eagles responded with seven straight points again and were within one point (75-74) with 4:46 to go.
Both teams traded baskets and with the Spiders owning an 80-78 lead, Richmond pressured American into consecutive turnovers in a span of three seconds of game time to provide the game's pivotal run.
With her 11 assists on the day, Koclanes moved into fourth place on the CAA's all-time assists charts and now has a program-best 564 all-time.
The Spiders close regular season play as the program celebrates "Senior Night" on Saturday, March 3 versus first place Old Dominion at 7 p.m.
