University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Xavier
Women's Basketball Holds Off Xavier 72-65
02/06/2005 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Junior Araceli Gil (Santa Barbara, Calif.) hit five of six free throw attempts in the final 40 seconds to lead the University of Richmond women's basketball team to a 72-65 victory over Xavier this afternoon at the Robins Center. The Spiders improve to 17-4, 8-2 in the conference and tie the Musketeers for the top spot in the Atlantic 10's West Division while Xavier falls to 14-7, 8-2 in the league.
Senior Kate Flavin (Englewood, Colo.) led the team with 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Both Gil and sophomore Christina Campion (Hamilton Square, N.J.) tallied 13 points.
Junior Tara Boothe led the Musketeers with a career-high 34 points and recorded her sixth double-double of the season with ten rebounds.
Boothe outscored the Richmond team throughout the first three minutes, tallying nine straight points and giving the Musketeers a two-point advantage. The Spiders took their first lead (11-9) with 15:48 on the clock off a pair of free throws from Flavin. Over a six-minute span, Richmond went on a 12-3 scoring run and took a double-digit lead with a jumper from DeUnna Hendrix (Kokomo, Ind.). During that span, Xavier missed seven baskets and committed five turnovers, including three offensive fouls.
Xavier responded with four three-point baskets, including two from sophomore Chelsea Chowning, and retook the lead with 1:28 left in the half. A put-back from Richmond freshman Mirna Mazic (Zagreb, Croatia) at the buzzer set the halftime score at 32-32.
The Musketeers held a slight lead for the first three minutes of the second half before Richmond hit seven of its next nine field goal attempts and built a 50-40 lead with 13:10 on the clock. The Spiders took their largest lead (15) with just under five minutes remaining in the game but Xavier did not give up.
The Musketeer defense held the Spiders to just two points over the following three and a half minutes and cut the deficit to four with 52 seconds left. With Xavier's seventh foul, junior Saona Chapman (Voluntown, Conn.) hit the front end of a pair of free throws and the Musketeers missed a three-point field goal on their next possession. Gil grabbed the defensive rebound and gave the Spiders' a five-point lead after hitting one of two free throw attempts following the Xavier foul.
With 22 seconds left, Boothe hit a lay-up to get the Musketeers within three points, but with another Xavier foul, Gil hit both free throw attempts and then stole the ball from junior Kristy Wallner at mid-court. A quick Xavier foul sent Gil back to the free throw line and she hit two additional free throws to give the Spiders a 72-65 win.
Richmond faces Rhode Island on Thursday, February 10 at 7:00 p.m.
