Women's Basketball Tops Massachusetts, 58-41

Sunday, January 13

ROBINS CENTER

12:00 PM ET

University of Richmond

Massachusetts

01/13/2002 | Women's Basketball

By: Richmond Athletics

Jan. 13, 2002

Final Stats

Go to a photo of Michele Koclanes honored for scoring her 1000th career point

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond women's basketball team earned its first-ever Atlantic 10 victory Sunday afternoon as the Spiders defeated the Massachusetts Minutewomen, 58-41, at the Robins Center in a game that was aired by the Atlantic 10 Television Network. A combination of tough Richmond defense and poor Massachusetts shooting limited the Minutewomen to their lowest point output of the season as they went almost 20 minutes without a field goal. Junior center Ebony Tanner (Garner, N.C./Ravenscroft) led the way for the Spiders as she posted 16 points and 12 rebounds while junior forward Krystn Gull (Asheville, N.C./Erwin) poured in 13 second half points.

Richmond got off to another slow start as the team missed its first nine shots, ending the drought on a three-pointer from junior forward Cammy Desmond (Midlothian, Va./James River) at the 13:27 mark, which pulled the Spiders within 8-4. The Minutewomen would then reel off 10 straight points though to take a 14-point lead at 10:49. This would be the last Massachusetts field goal of the first half as Richmond pulled within 23-20 at the break. Tanner had seven points and four rebounds to lead Richmond and sophomore guard Amber Goppert (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy) contributed seven points as well. Jennifer Butler paced Massachusetts with seven points and seven rebounds.

In the second half, Richmond continued to hold the Minutewomen without a field goal as the Spiders took their first lead of the game at the 15:53 mark, 26-24, on two free throws from senior point guard Michele Koclanes (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial), who finished the contest with a game-high eight assists. Massachusetts would make its first field goal of the second stanza at the 11:25 mark, a span of 19:19 without connecting on a shot from the field. During this nearly 20-minute stretch, Richmond went on a 30-9 run to put the game away. Gull led the charge in the second half as she was 5-of-7 from the floor, including three three-pointers, as the largest the margin grew to was 18 points on the way to the 58-41 victory.

Tanner, who picked up her fourth double-double of the season, and Gull were the only two Spiders to reach double-figures. Goppert finished with a solid nine points, five rebounds, and three steals off the bench while freshman forward Kate Flavin (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) contributed six points and nine boards. Massachusetts received two double-doubles in the loss, 10 points and 15 rebounds from junior center Jennifer Butler and 15 points and 11 rebounds from junior forward Amber Sneed. The Spiders defense held Massachusetts to 13-of-57 from the floor (22.8%) as they forced 24 Minutewomen turnovers to only four assists. It also marked the first time this season the Spiders won a contest in which they didn't lead at the half (previously 0-8).

The win improves Richmond to 1-3 in the A-10, 7-10 overall, while Massachusetts also goes to 1-3 in the A-10, 3-12 overall. The Spiders return to action at the end of next week as they welcome the two Ohio schools in the Atlantic 10's West Division to the Robins Center. Thursday, January 17, the Spiders host Dayton at 7:00 p.m. and then on Sunday, January 20, they entertain Xavier at 2:00 p.m. as Richmond closes out a four-game homestand.