University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Basketball Makes its Mark
01/02/2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2004
The University of Richmond Women's Basketball Team continues its surge to national prominence, holding onto the #7 spot in the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranking.
The RPI was established as a way of comparing teams across the country, and is a factor used by the NCAA selection committee in picking and seeding teams for the NCAA tournament. The RPI is a measure of strength of schedule, and how a team does against that schedule. The basic formula for calculating a team's RPI is made up as follows:
25% team winning percentage
50% opponents' average winning percentage
25% opponents' opponents' average winning percentage
In simpler terms, the Spiders have been able to consistently remain atop the RPI rankings this season because they have played top-level teams and have been able to defeat a number of these highly ranked opponents. Currently Richmond has played the 3rd toughest schedule in the country, and has recorded 8 wins against only 3 losses.
Head Coach Joanne Boyle, since taking over the Spider program in April, 2002 has made no secret of the fact that she wants her Richmond team to reach new heights by competing against the nation's premier programs. With victories over Florida, Liberty, Georgetown and Delaware, as well as taking on the likes of LSU and Miami, she has helped her team to achieve national recognition. The Spiders hope to continue their success as Atlantic 10 conference play begins.
