University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Fordham
Richmond Rolls To 20th Win Of The Season
02/24/2009 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2009
BRONX, N.Y. -
Three Spiders scored in double figures as Richmond (20-8, 8-5) downed Fordham (8-20, 1-12) 62-44 Tuesday night in the Bronx. The win marks Richmond's seventh in a row against Fordham.
Richmond was in control the entire game, jumping out to a 6-0 lead to start the game. Richmond pushed the lead to 21-9 after a Rachael Bilney three-pointer at the 10:38 mark. Fordham fought its way back to a 30-21 deficit after a Becky Peters three-pointer, but the Spiders pushed the lead back to a double-digit deficit after a jumper by Bilney made the score 32-21.
"I am very pleased for our program to get to 20 wins," said head coach Michael Shafer. "I'm proud of our players and coaching staff. We handled adversity and found a way to win."
Richmond dominated the second half, leading by as many as 19 points with two minutes remaining in the game. Bilney finished her night shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from long range for 10 points.
"Coach talked to me about my first thought being to shoot, not pass," said Bilney. "I definitely kept that in my mind."
Senior Johanna McKnight led the Spiders with a game-high 15 points. Junior Danielle Bell chipped in with 10 points.
"This win opens a lot of doors for us," said McKnight. "It shows we're serious about making the tournament."
Richmond swatted a season-high 10 shots in the game, and out rebounded the Rams, 46-35.
"We did a very good job defensively tonight," said Shafer. "We contested shots and made it very difficult for them to score. I was pleased with our scoring distribution as well."
Richmond returns to the Robins Center for Senior Day Sunday. Tip is slated for 2;00 p.m. against St. Louis.
