University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Duquesne
Women's Basketball "Steals" Victory From Duquesne, 95-61
02/01/2002 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2002
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond women's basketball team led from start to finish Friday night as it defeated Duquesne, 95-61, at the Robins Center. The Spiders got contributions from everyone as it was the third time in four games that they scored 90+ points. Freshman forward Kate Flavin (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) had a brilliant all-around game as she finished with six points, seven rebounds, and career-highs with six assists and nine steals. Flavin's nine thefts are the second most ever by a Spider and just one off the school record. The Spiders finished the game with 21 steals, tying a school-record most recently set in 1997 versus Campbell.
Richmond jumped out to an 18-9 lead eight minutes into the contest, led by seven points from sophomore guard Amber Goppert (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy). Richmond would continue to keep the lead around 10 points before going on a 12-2 run towards the end of the first half to build its largest lead before the break, 41-22. The Spiders led 41-25 going into the intermission thanks in large part to recording 13 steals off 19 Duquesne turnovers. Goppert led Richmond with 15 points and junior forward Krystn Gull (Asheville, N.C./Erwin) added 11, including connecting on 3-of-4 three-pointers.
Pressure defense would continue to force the visitors into turnovers as the Spiders capitalized and built their lead to 22 points at the 16:57 mark, 51-29. The Dukes would not get the margin under 19 points the rest of the way as the Spiders led by as many as 38 points in the second half on their way to the 95-61 victory. Richmond forced 28 Duquesne turnovers for the game and limited the Dukes to 28.8% from the floor, while shooting 45.8% themselves. In addition to Flavin, Goppert did a little of everything with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Senior point guard Michele Koclanes (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) finished the game with nine points and 10 assists, her fifth straight game with 10 or more assists. Gull finished with 19 points, including tying her career-high with five three-pointers, and junior center Ebony Tanner (Garner, N.C./Ravenscroft) was the third Spider in double-figures with 13. Also setting career-highs for Richmond off the bench were junior guard Elise Ryder (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) with a career-best eight rebounds, along with a season-high four steals, and senior guard Heather Rice (Oklahoma City, Okla./Heritage Hall) who finished with eight points, including going 2-of-3 from downtown. For the Dukes, sophomore Candace Futrell and senior Oxana Shetko each scored 15 while junior Beth Friday pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
The victory improves Richmond to 10-12, 4-5 in the Atlantic 10. Duquesne also goes to 4-5 in the league, 9-11 overall. The Spiders return to action this Sunday as they travel to Philadelphia to face Temple in an Atlantic 10 Television Network game. Tip-off is set for noon.
