University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Basketball Travels To Massachusetts
01/17/2006 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond women's basketball team will travel to Massachusetts for a match-up with the Minutewomen on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, Mass. The Spiders will look to end their two game slide as they play the Minutewomen for the seventh time in the program's history.
SPIDER SCOOP: The Spiders are now 7-10 overall and 2-3 in the A-10 after victories over Hampton, UC-Santa Barbara, Harvard, Howard, Wake Forest, and A-10 opponents Saint Louis and Duquesne, and losses to Boston College, James Madison, Long Beach, VCU, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Missouri State, and A-10 opponents La Salle, Xavier, and Dayton. Richmond is led by sophomore sensation Mirna Mazic (11.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg), who recorded three double-doubles and one 30-point game this season, senior guard Saona Chapman (9.5 ppg), who reached double figures in nine games this season, senior guard Araceli Gil (8.5 ppg), and junior forward Kelly Roche (8.3 ppg). The Spiders are coming off their third-straight 20-plus winning season (23-7) in which they advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
LAST SPIDER GAME: The Spiders enter Thursday's contest fresh off a 67-62 loss at Dayton where Mazic recorded her third double-double of the season. Mazic and Gil led all scorers as Mazic notched 19 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds after tying her career-high two three pointers. Gil followed with 17 points and dished out five assists, senior forward Alison Mitchell added nine points, Roche scored eight points, and DeUnna Hendrix notched in seven points.
MINUTEWOMEN WORD: The Minutewomen are now 3-13 overall and 0-5 in the conference after wins over Holy Cross, Siena, and Brown, and losses to Delaware, Eastern Michigan, Hartford, Hofstra, New Hampshire, Boston College, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and A-10 opponents Dayton, Duquesne, Saint Bonaventure, Rhode Island, and Charlotte. Led by Pam Rosanio (13.3 ppg) and Kate Mills (11.7 ppg), Massachusetts is returning four starters from last year's squad that went 14-15 overall, finishing third in the A-10 East Division with a 6-10 league mark.
THE COACHES: Richmond head coach Michael Shafer is 7-9 (2-2 in the Atlantic 10) in his first season with the Spiders, earning his first win as head coach against Hampton and experiencing his first loss against Boston College in the Pre-Season WNIT. Shafer joined the Spiders after coaching at Georgia for the last 11 years where he helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and four Southeastern Conference championships, three regular-season titles, and one tournament title. Massachusetts head coach Marnie Dacko is in her fourth season with the Minutewomen and has compiled a record of 37-64 during her tenure as head coach. Prior to her arrival at UMass, Dacko was the head Coach at Cornell University for seven seasons, in which she became the winningest women's basketball coach in Cornell history with 80 victories, including a school-record 15 wins in the 2000-01 season. Before her stint at Cornell, Dacko was an assistant basketball coach and head softball coach at St. John's University from 1979-84, and an assistant coach at Northwestern University for 11 years.
SERIES: This is the seventh meeting between the two teams with the Spiders leading the series 5-1. The Spiders have won the last three meetings, while the Minutewomen haven't defeated the Spiders since their lone win on March 2, 2002. Currently, the Spiders are undefeated on the Minutewomen's territory.
LAST GO AROUND: The Spiders topped the Minutewomen 55-43 last year in their meeting in the Mullins Center. Chapman paced the Spiders with 15 points after hitting a trio of three-pointers, while Kate Flavin also reached double-figures with 12 points. Christina Campion and Hendrix dominated the boards as they grabbed nine and eight, respectively. Tamera Tatham led the Minutewomen with 12 points as they lost their third-straight game.
CURRENT STREAKS: Richmond is currently 3-7 (1-2 in the A-10) on the road after dropping two consecutive road games to Xavier and Dayton. UMass is 2-4 at home and has not won a contest at home since their 71-53 victory over Sienna at the end of Nov.
NEXT CONTEST: Following Thursday's contest, the Spiders will return home to host the Fordham Rams on Sunday at noon.
