University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
La Salle
Women's Basketball Uses First Half Run To Bury La Salle, 84-52
02/07/2002 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2002
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond women's basketball team defeated the La Salle Explorers, 84-52, at the Robins Center Thursday night. After briefly trailing seven minutes into the contest, the Spiders would make a run and never look back as six players scored in double-digits for the first time this season.
At the 13:57 mark of the first half, the Explorers held their last lead of the game at 12-11. Richmond closed out the half on a 41-7 run, during which the Spiders ran-off 21 straight at one point. La Salle went scoreless for 5:38 during this stretch, while juniors Krystn Gull (Asheville, N.C./Erwin) and Elise Ryder (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) scored seven and five, respectively, as each knocked down a three-pointer. The Spiders shot 51.2% before the intermission, compared to the 25.0% by the Explorers, as Richmond entered the locker room with a 52-19 lead. The 19 points is the fewest the Spiders have given up in the first half this season as they outrebounded La Salle, 31-11, led by Ebony Tanner's (Garner, N.C./Ravenscroft) 10.
The Explorers would get no closer than 29 points in the second half as Richmond led by as many as 41. Ryder led six Spiders in double-digits with a game-high 14 points while Gull chipped in with 13. Freshman forward Sandie Walker (York, Pa./William Penn) came off the bench to record the first double-double of her career as she scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, both personal bests. Senior point guard Michele Koclanes (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) finished with 11 and sophomore guard Amber Goppert (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy) and freshman forward Kate Flavin (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) each finished with 10 points as 11 of 12 Spiders joined in the scoring. Tanner finished with a game-high 11 rebounds as Richmond held a 55-34 advantage on the boards. For La Salle, senior guard Suzanne Keilty notched her 1,000th career-point, becoming the 18th Explorer to accomplish this feat, as she finished with 10 points. Sophomore forward Kat Foley finished with a team-high 13 points in the loss.
The victory improves Richmond to 11-13, 5-6 in the Atlantic 10. La Salle remains winless in the conference, falling to 4-18, 0-11. The Spiders return to action at the Robins Center this Sunday as they host western division leading and undefeated George Washington (15-6, 10-0). Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. as the contest follows the Richmond/Dayton men's game.
