University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Appalachian State
Women's Basketball Edges Appalachian State, 63-62
12/01/2006 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2006
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Richmond women's basketball team used its first half momentum, building a 26-point lead, to carry it to a one-point victory over Appalachian State on Friday night at the Human Performance Center in New Orleans, La. in the first day's action of the Four Points By Sheraton UNO Lady Privateer Invitational. Sophomore Sarah Williams led the Spiders, putting in a season-high 14 points as she delivered her third consecutive double-digit performance and fourth of the season as the Spiders edged by the Mountaineers, 63-62.
Williams led the Spiders after pulling a team-high and career-high eight rebounds and shooting a perfect 2-2 both from behind the arch and the free throw line as she was the only Spider to reach double-figures on the night. Redshirt junior Christina Campion and Augustina Zygaite contributed eight points in the Spiders' win, with Zygaites eight points serving as a career-high. Senior DeUnna Hendrix followed with seven points and freshmen Erin Hawkins and Katie Holzer added six points apiece.
Four Mountaineers reached double-digits with Whitney Ketner leading the way with a game-high 16 points and nine rebounds. Teammates Whitney Tossey followed with 15 points, Maria Grimes put in 11 points and Jaime Bennett rounded out the Mountaineers in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Although neither team was able to score in the first two minutes of action, the Spiders jumped to a 10-0 lead by the 15:14 mark behind the efforts of four different Spiders, including treys by Hendrix and Williams. Richmond held the Mountaineers scoreless until the 13:25 mark, when Whitney Ketner sunk two free throws to put the first two points on the scoreboard for Appalachian.
The Spiders held Appalachian from a bucket on the floor for the first eight minutes, forcing four of the Mountaineers' first six points to come from the free throw line. Meanwhile, over half of the Spiders' points in the first 13 minutes of play were scored off of 3-pointers.
Richmond pulled away with a 20-point lead at the 4:05 mark behind six-straight points from Williams and a bucket underneath the basket by Danielle Bell, all within a 1:36 span. Then, just under three minutes later, Zygaite went on a run, scoring eight points, including two "and one's" along the way as the Spiders took their largest lead of the season (26 points) going into halftime.
The Mountaineers opened the second half with an 11-2 run in the first 3:30 of play and then by the 8:07 mark, they had trimmed the Spiders' lead to just 10. The Spiders rebuilt their lead to 17; however, the Mountaineers went on another run, this time putting in 15 points to Richmond's four over a 7:14 minute span, to make it a six-point game with just over five minutes remaining.
The remainder of the contest was a back and forth battle down to the last second, when Appalachian put in their final basket to close the game, finishing just one point short of the Spiders.
Ketner, Tossie and Bennett led the Mountaineers in their comeback efforts, each scoring double-figures in the second half with 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"I think the game is indicative of where our team is right now," stated Coach Shafer. "In the first half, we showed a great deal of ability. The second half showed our youth. We have a long way to go. I'd like to get this team to be consistent for a whole game. Right now, we turn on and off the switch in the middle of the game and we just can't do that."
The Spiders (3-5) will now conclude tournament action and their five-game road stand with either Southeastern Louisiana or the University of New Orleans on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. (EST.) at the Human Performance Center. Live coverage of Saturday's game with the Mountaineers will be available at RichmondSpiders.com (audio broadcast courtesy of Southestern Louisiana).
