University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
St. Bonaventure
Women's Basketball Explodes In Home Finale, Drops SBU, 104-95
02/17/2002 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2002
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond women's basketball team scored a season-high 104 points Sunday afternoon as the Spiders outgunned the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 104-95, at the Robins Center. Six Spiders scored in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Amber Goppert's 21 (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy). Senior point guard Michele Koclanes (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) made the final home game of her career one to remember as she set a career-high with 14 assists, the most ever by a Spider in a single game.
The game didn't start out to so well for the Spiders as the visitors connected on their first three shots to take a 7-0 lead. The Bonnies would extend this lead to 11, 25-14, with 8:29 left in the half. However, senior guard Heather Rice (Oklahoma City, Okla./Heritage Hall) buried a three-pointer at 6:08 that began an offensive explosion for Richmond the rest of the game. Goppert hit a triple at 2:48 to give the Spiders their first lead of the game, 35-33. She would connect on another just 23 seconds later, both on assists from Koclanes, as Richmond would enter the locker room with a 45-41 lead.
The second half would go back-and-forth for the first five minutes as there were five ties during this stretch. However, over the next two minutes, Richmond went on a 10-2 run to take a 70-62 lead at the 13:00 minute mark. The Spiders converted 10 of their first 13 shots in the half, as Koclanes assisted on five of the baskets. Richmond would never trail again as it took its biggest lead of the game, 84-72 with 8:14 to play, as the team continued its hot shooting, going 16-of-24 to this point in the half. A lay-up by junior center Ebony Tanner (Garner, N.C./Ravenscroft) at 1:16 pushed the Spiders over the century mark for the second time this season as they went on to win, 104-95.
Koclanes, the nation's active all-time assists leader, dished out a school-record 14 assists on senior day, topping her previous best of 13 which she set three times. Her career assist total now stands at 768, the 23rd most all time in NCAA Division I women's basketball. She also chipped in 14 points to record her 7th double-double of the season and 21st of her career. Junior forward Cammy Desmond (Midlothian, Va./James River) had a perfect day for the Spiders off the bench, going 4-of-4 from the field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-6 from the line to record a season-high 17 points. She also pulled down a game-high six rebounds. Goppert scored a team-high 21, her 9th 20+ point performance of the season, as the Atlantic 10 steals leader also had a game-high four thefts. Tanner finished with 15 points and freshman forward Kate Flavin (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) and junior guard Elise Ryder (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) contributed 13 and 11, respectively, off the bench. The Bonnies were led by freshman guard Stefanie Collins' 23 points as five Bonnies finished in double-figures.
Richmond shot 52.9% for the game while the Bonnies shot an even more impressive 58.3%. The two teams also combined to go 41-of-46 from the free throw line, with Richmond going 21-of-24 (87.5%) and St. Bonaventure finishing at 20-of-22 (90.9%). What's most impressive is what the Spiders did for almost the final three-quarters of the contest. Richmond scored its 18th point 13:16 into the first half, meaning that it scored an overwhelming 86 points over the final 26:44 of the game.
The victory improves Richmond to 12-15, 6-8 in the Atlantic 10, while St. Bonaventure falls to 13-12, 7-7. The Spiders finish out their regular season next weekend in Ohio with key western division match-ups versus Dayton, on Friday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m., and Xavier on Sunday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m.
2001-02 Seniors (left to right):Heather Rice, Tasha Swaby, Michele Koclanes
