University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Wake Forest
Wake Forest Wins Defensive Battle, 43-33, Over Spiders
12/20/2015 | Women's Basketball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Richmond women's basketball (6-5) gave a spirited effort at Wake Forest, but ultimately came up short in a 43-33 loss to the Demon Deacons (8-3).
Janelle Hubbard led the Spiders with 11 points and four rebounds. Salita Greene scored eight points and pulled down a career-best 13 rebounds.
“I was very proud of our overall effort today,” head coach Michael Shafer said. “It was more in line with what our program has come to expect. Our defense and rebounding were as good as it's been all season. Unfortunately our offense didn't quite match up. I feel like we took a step in the right direction, and am looking forward to watching the growth of this basketball team.”
Micaela Parson was hounded by the Demon Deacon defense all game and scored five points with four assists, but notched a career-best 12 rebounds.
The Spiders outrebounded Wake Forest, 45-43, and pulled down 20 offensive boards with seven coming from Greene and five from Parson. The 45 rebounds were a new season high for the Spiders.
Richmond's defense also forced 22 turnovers off 10 steals, and held the Demon Deacons to 29.8 percent shooting from the field. Today's effort tied the Old Dominion game for most opponent turnovers in a contest this year.
Wake Forest was led by Amber Campbell who scored 17 points with three threes, while Ataijah Taylor scored 15 points but coughed up seven turnovers.
The Spiders built a 9-6 lead after the first quarter with solid defense. However, Wake Forest opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 17-9 lead which it never relinquished.
Richmond had a nice push in the third quarter with aggressive offense that got to the free throw line and to the basket for second-chance layups. A layup from Greene with 4:25 left in the third ignited the Spider bench as UR pulled to within 24-22. However, Wake Forest responded with a three-pointer from Amber Campbell to push it back to a two-possession game.
The Demon Deacons extended their lead to 12 points to open the fourth quarter and hit a number of free throws down the stretch to salt away the final margin.
Richmond returns to action after the holidays in a tournament at UVA, playing Lafayette on Dec. 28 followed by Virginia on Dec. 29.
