University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Dayton
Richmond Beats Dayton In Overtime Thriller, 78-77
02/27/2005 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2005
DAYTON, Ohio - Junior Araceli Gil (Santa Barbara, Calif.) hit two free throws with seven seconds remaining in overtime to lead the University of Richmond women's basketball team to a 78-77 win today at UD Arena. The Spiders end their regular season with a 21-6 overall record and a 12-4 mark against Atlantic 10 opponents while Dayton falls to 12-15, 6-10 in the league.
Richmond earns the #3 seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Championships in Washington, D.C. after finishing third in the conference's West Division. The Spiders will play St. Bonaventure on Friday, March 4 at 6:00 p.m. in first action.
For just the second time this year, five Richmond players scored in double-figures with junior Saona Chapman (Voluntown, Conn.) leading the team with 21 points. Sophomore DeUnna Hendrix tallied 13 points, including the three-point basket that tied the game to force overtime.
The Flyers were led by senior Emily Williams' career-high 29 points in her final game at UD Arena.
Three minutes into the game, Richmond built an 8-0 lead after consecutive three-point baskets from Gil and Hendrix. Dayton cut the deficit to one but the Spiders took a ten-point off a 15-foot jumper from sophomore Christina Campion (Hamilton Square, N.J.) with 9:15 on the clock. Throughout the remainder of the half, the Flyers closed the gap to three on three different occasions but the Spiders held a 36-31 lead at the break.
With just under two minutes gone in the second half, Dayton evened the score at 38 and took their first lead on their next possession. The Spiders went seven minutes without hitting a field goal before ending the scoring drought at the 12:42 mark.
Shortly into the second half, senior Kate Flavin (Englewood, Colo.) left the game with an injury and did not return.
The Flyers held as much as a six-point advantage before Richmond regained the lead with an old-fashioned three-point play from freshman Mirna Mazic (Zagreb, Croatia).
Over the final five and a half minutes, the Flyers held a slight advantage but Hendrix tied the game at 66 with 35 seconds left in the game. The Flyers' last shot fell short and Richmond secured the rebound to force overtime.
In overtime, the Spiders scored just one point during the first four minutes and were down by eight points with under a minute left in the game. In the final 56 seconds, Richmond outscored the Flyers 11-2. Chapman connected on a three-point basket and following Dayton's five second violation on the inbound play, Mazic converted another three-point play.
Williams hit two free throws after a quick Richmond foul but on the Spiders' next possession, Chapman drove to the basket and cut the lead to one with a three-point play. Dayton turned the ball over with 23 seconds left and after Richmond's 30 second timeout, Gil was fouled went to the free throw line with eight seconds left. Dayton got off another last second shot but it again fell short and the Spiders left with the 78-77 win.
Richmond competes in the Atlantic 10 Championships this upcoming weekend in Washington, D.C.
