University of Richmond Athletics
Second-Half Surge Lifts Richmond Over Tribe, 60-47
12/03/2009 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2009
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -
An early 12-2 second-half run lifted Richmond (6-2) over William & Mary (4-3), 60-47 Thursday night at Kaplan Arena. Three Spiders scored in double figures as Richmond secured its third straight win over the Tribe.
After trailing 33-31 at the break, Richmond came out ready in the opening minutes of the second half, outscoring the Tribe 12-2 thanks in part to Kara Powell's eight straight points. Powell drilled two quick three-pointers to spark the Spider offense.
The Spiders' relentless defense caused four Tribe turnovers in the first two minutes of the second frame. Richmond expanded its lead to 46-37 after a Rachael Bilney three-pointer with 15:35 remaining.
"We had a much better defensive effort in the second half," said head coach Michael Shafer. "Our defensive lead to our offense. We won the rebounding edge which was huge for us because they are a very good rebounding team. I wanted to see a lot more contested shots and pressure in the second half. I thought we did a good job of that."
William & Mary's defense pushed the Spiders deep into shot-clock possession which resulted in eight first-half turnovers. The Tribe owned the momentum in the first frame by knocking down timely jump shots to keep the lead at a two-possession game.
"We weren't ready to play in the first half," said junior Brittani Shells. "We went into the locker room and got focused. We came back out ready to focus on us. We came up with timely steals and played hard."
Richmond took its largest lead at 58-38 after senior Danielle Bell nailed a three-pointer in the corner at the 5:38 mark.
Shafer improves to 3-1 against his alma mater and 3-1 versus CAA opponents this season.
Powell led three Spiders in double-figures with 15 points. Bell ended her night with a season-best 4-for-7 from long range for 14 points. Richmond also shot a season-best 38 percent from three-point range.
William and Mary's Taysha Pye scored 15 first-half points but was limited to just three after the break. Pye led all scorers with 18 points.
Richmond continues its rivalry week with cross-town foe VCU Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Siegel Center.
