University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Free Exhibition On Thursday
11/01/2006 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 1, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond women's basketball team will host M.I. Express on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Robins Center as it prepares for an extremely challenging schedule, opening its season in less than a week and a half at Fairfield and No. 8 Connecticut.
The Spiders have been practicing since October 13 in preparation for the upcoming season in which they will compete against 11 teams that advanced to postseason play last season, 17 teams which finished with winning records and two teams that were picked in the Top 10 in this season's preseason poll.
M.I. Express Women's Basketball was established in the spring of 1993 by Wyetta T. Gordon and present coach Michael L. Ivy. Originated to bring together former college players to compete athletically in various city leagues and out-of-state tournaments, the main focus of M.I. Express has now become college exhibition games for the purpose of showcasing player's talents before WNBA coaches, scouts and agents.
"We are certainly excited about finally having a chance to put on our uniforms and play against someone other than ourselves," stated head coach Michael Shafer. "At this time of year, the players, generally, are tired of practicing and feel they are ready to play, while the coaches think we need another month of practice."
The Spiders just played a Red-Blue scrimmage for fans on Monday night in the Robins Center, where redshirt junior Christina Campion, sophomore Augustina Zygaite and freshman Erin Hawkins led the Blue team with five points in the 20-minute running clock scrimmage.
"Playing an exhibition game will allow us to honestly assess where we are, what we need to work on and how we can get better," continued Shafer. "At the same time, it will be an opportunity for some new players to start to get a feel for what competing at this level will be like. We have five players who have never played a college game. Johanna McKnight has not played in a year and a half and Christina has not played in year. Hopefully, we can gain some valuable lessons and experience in a short amount of time."
M.I. Express currently has two traveling teams, M.I. Express and M.I. Express2. The Spiders will be competing against the M.I. Express with a roster that includes three Old Dominion graduates, two Norfolk State alums, a former Saint Joseph's player and a former Richmond star, Candice Edwards, among others. Edwards was a graduate of 2001.
There will also be a guest appearance from 2006 Richmond graduate and Spider standout Araceli Gil. "I know everyone is excited to see Araceli on the Robins Center floor again," stated Shafer. "She was such an instrumental part of the team's success over the last four years. It will be good to have her back out there. We might try to sneak her into our huddle for another year, though."
Following the exhibition, the Spiders will continue practice before kicking off their season in Connecticut as they face Fairfield on November 11 and No. 8 Connecticut on November 13. Richmond will then return home for its home opener on November 16 at 7:00 p.m. against William & Mary.
Live coverage (both live stats and video streaming) of Thursday's exhibition will be available at RichmondSpiders.com.
