University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Basketball Plays No. 8/8 Connecticut Tonight
11/13/2006 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2006
HARTFORD, Conn. - After opening its season with an 11-point victory over Fairfield, the Richmond women's basketball team will conclude its first road trip of the season with the 2006 Big East Champions. The Spiders will face No. 8 Connecticut on Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Hartford Civic Center in the Huskies' season opener.
The Spiders just opened their season on Saturday night at Alumni Hall where Preseason Third Team All-A-10 selection Christina Campion scored 16 points and grabbed seven boards to lead Richmond to a 59-48 win over Fairfield. RS-Sophomore Johanna McKnight followed with 11 points and eight boards, while freshman Katie Holzer rounded out the Spiders in double digits, adding 10 points and seven rebounds in her collegiate debut.
Richmond finished tied for eighth in the A-10 last season with a 13-17 mark (7-9 in the A-10). The Spiders' season was highlighted by a four-game win streak, including wins over No. 19 Temple and A-10 leaders Charlotte and George Washington. While the Spiders lost all of their consistent starters, they are still returning an experienced group in Campion, Hendrix, Roche and Williams, who each started a number of games and saw a consistent amount of court time.
The No. 8/8 Huskies are coming off a convincing 102-61 win over the Houston Jaguars on Wednesday night in their second preseason exhibition when Mel Thomas paced all scorers with 28 points. Joining Thomas in double figures was Tina Charles, who finished with 16 points 14 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double of the preseason. Sophomore Renee Montgomery added 17 points while fellow sophomore Kalana Greene chipped in 16 to round out the Huskies in double figures.
UConn returns two starters from last year's team that finished with a 25-8 mark (13-3 in the Big East). The Huskies claimed their 12th Big East title and its first since 2002, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the 12th straight season. With a record-setting defense, the Huskies allowed just 51.4 points per game, the 3rd-best total nationally and have won each of their last 168 home games against unranked teams.
Connecticut will be the first of two preseason nationally-ranked opponents the Spiders' will face in the 2006-07 season. While the Huskies were picked to win the Big East, they were also given a No. 8/8 preseason national ranking. The Spiders are no strangers to facing, or even taking down a nationally-ranked opponent, as they rallied back from an 11-point deficit to defeat No. 19 Temple just last season (2/12/06), taking their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent in more than 15 years.
Live coverage of Monday's contest will be available at RichmondSpiders.com.
