University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
WESTERN CAROLINA
Spiders Drop Western Carolina In Season Opener, 65-42
11/13/2009 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2009
Box Score UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Redshirt junior Kara Powell returned with 14 points and junior Brittani Shells poured in a game-high 16 points en route to Richmond's 65-42 rout over visiting Western Carolina Friday night at the Robins Center.
Powell, returning to the court in a Spider uniform for the first time since 2007, went a scorching 5-for-6 from the field, including a team-best 3-for-4 from long range.
"We came out and played hard," said Powell. "It feels really good to come back out and play."
Richmond broke open the game with a 6-0 run to lead 16-10 with 9:52 remaining in the first half. The Catamounts would fight back to a 18-16 deficit, but the Spiders quickly responded with an 13-0 run to create some breathing room before the break. Shells dominated early by accounting for 14 of the Spiders' 33 first-half points. Shells netted a staggering seven field goals before the half.
"I thought we played pretty well for a first game," said head coach Michael Shafer. "We had good contributions from a lot of people. We played well defensively and made a good shooting team take contested shots. We also forced some turnovers that resulted in easy points. I thought we started out relying on the three-point shot too much and we missed shots that were open. Once we settled down, we shot the ball well and attacked a little more. I thought we had pretty good balance scoring and did a pretty good job offensively in transition."
Richmond expanded its lead by starting the second half on a 7-0 run to bolster the advantage to 40-22 with 17:09 remaining. From there, the Spiders took control of the game going ahead by as many as 27 points with 2:50 remaining in regulation.
Richmond's pesky defense caused Western Carolina to turnover the ball a game-high 21 times. The Spiders also recorded a game-high 14 swipes.
Sophomore Joyous Tharrington netted a career-best 11 points. Tharrington missed 19 games last season due to a season-ending injury. Tharrington went 5-for-6 from the field with three assists. Redshirt junior Katie Holzer, also returning to the court for the first time since 2007, chipped in with seven points.
"It was good to have Kara, Katie and Joy back out there," said Shafer. "I thought they all three played very well. Brit picked up right where she left off. I am just pleased to open with a win over an NCAA team from last season. It was a great team effort."
Shafer moved to 4-1 in season openers. The Spiders continue their home slate with George Mason Monday at 4 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.
