University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Basketball Set For A-10 Championships
02/28/2007 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, VA. - After concluding the regular season on a winning note and with a sixth seed, the Richmond women's basketball team is set to begin Atlantic 10 Championship play on Friday at 6:00 p.m. facing 11th seed Saint Louis.
"I believe our team is excited about heading to Cincinnati with the opportunity to challenge for an NCAA automatic bid," said Richmond head coach Michael Shafer. "It is the time of year where teams want to be playing their best basketball. I feel like we have been playing well, but have yet to put three or four strong games together in a row. I know of no better time to do that than the conference tournament. Obviously, we are in a must win situation each time we step foot on the floor. As competitors, I believe that our players will enjoy that challenge."
Spiders in the Championships: Since entering the A-10, the Spiders are 5-5 (.500) in the A-10 Championships and are undefeated (3-0) in first round action. Richmond will look to extend that streak to four with a win over Saint Louis on Friday night in the first round. The winner of Friday's contest faces Xavier, which is enjoying a first round bye, on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
Scouting the Spiders: Richmond (13-16, 7-7 in A-10) just closed out the regular season with a win over Dayton on Sunday, its second win in three games. Richmond rallied back from a seven-point deficit to top the Flyers in the Robins Center. Three Spiders reached double-figures, including DeUnna Hendrix who chipped in 10 points and five rebounds on her senior day. Hendrix' 10 points (off of 4-of-5 shooting from the field) marked her second double-figure performance of the season and the eighth of her career. Also in double figures was redshirt junior Christina Campion leading all Spiders for the second-straight game, finishing with 15 points after hitting three treys. Freshman Kara Powell contributed her 11th double-digit performance, putting in 11 points, as well as pulling a career-high eight rebounds.
Richmond runs a balanced attack with seven Spiders averaging five or more points per game, led by Campion (10.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg). Johanna McKnight (8.3 ppg), Powell (8.2 ppg), Sarah Williams (7.9 ppg) and Katie Holzer (7.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg) round out the Spiders' attack that puts in 60.6 ppg on average, while Nikita Thomas (6.1 rpg) leads the team on the boards with six double-digit rebound performances.
Approaching 1,000: Campion is making a strong run to be the 15th Richmond women's basketball player to eclipse the 1,000-point marker. She is currently at 986 points after playing 99 games, putting in 21 points in Thursday night's contest and 15 in Sunday's to surge her closer to the marker.
Scouting the Billikens: Saint Louis (12-16, 4-9 in A-10) has dropped three of its last four games, including a nine-point overtime loss at La Salle in its regular season finale. Despite 25 points from freshman Theresa Lisch, Saint Louis dropped a 75-66 overtime decision at La Salle on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia to finish the season as the 11th seed. Lisch poured in 25 points, the second-highest total of her career, and handed out five assists to lead the Billikens. Maggie Hennegan added 13 points, while Katie Paganelli chipped in 10 to round out the Billikens in double-figures.
Four Billikens average double figures led by Lisch (15.4 ppg). 2005-06 Student-Athlete of the Year Tyler McIlwraith (14.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Paganelli (12.1 ppg) and Hennegan (10.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg) balance out Saint Louis' attack that puts in 70.4 ppg. The Billikens return four starters from last year's squad that posted a 7-20 overall mark finishing 13th in their first year with the A-10 with a split 4-12 mark in the league.
The All-Time Series (1-1): Friday will mark just the third meeting between the teams, but the second in the last eight days. The series is currently knotted 1-1 after the Spiders took a six-point win in the first-ever meeting last year and the Billikens returned the favor with an eight-point win at Richmond last Thursday night.
The Last Meeting: Despite coming back from a 10-point deficit, the Spiders were stopped by Saint Louis, 78-70, last Thurs. night at the Robins Center. Campion and McKnight led the Spiders with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Campion's 21 points was her third 20-plus performance of the season, and McKnight's 19 points, was a career-high scoring output. Both led the team on the boards, pulling eight rebounds apiece. Freshman Danielle Bell also chipped in seven points in the Spiders' efforts, while freshman Thomas added six points and seven boards and freshman Holzer put in five points and seven boards.
Five Billikens, including McIlwraith and Lisch, reached double figures as they snapped their two-game skid. Hennegan finished with 14 points and seven boards, while Paganelli and Amanda Kemezys chipped in 12 points apiece.
Follow the Spiders: Live coverage for Friday's contest will be available at RichmondSpiders.com.
