University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
4-5
Penn
4-4
Freshmen Spark Spider Comeback but Fall Short, 47-44
12/10/2016 | Women's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team (4-5) could have folded on Saturday afternoon after scoring just 12 points in the first half or when trailing by 14 in the third quarter but it battled back and had a chance to win this game late before falling, 47-44.
It was the freshman pair of Jaide Hinds-Clarke and Ragan Wiseman that provided the spark for the Spiders during a 15-0, third-quarter run that erased that 14-point deficit and gave the home side a lead after a woeful first half. That duo accounted for 13 of the 15 points during that run, capped off by Wiseman triple that put the Spiders ahead for the first time.
Hinds-Clarke finished with a new career-best 14 points to go with three rebounds and a block. Wiseman scored nine points on a trio of triples, all of which came from the exact same spot, in the corner in front of the Spider bench. She also added six boards, two assists and a steal. Micaela Parson was the only other Spider to reach double-digits with 11 points.
As a team the Spiders shot just 11 percent in the first half against 37 percent in the second half to get themselves back into this one. The bench came up big once again, dropping in 29 points after going for 30 or more in four straight. Penn made up the difference by out-rebounding Richmond, 44-39.
Richmond trailed 32-29 at the end of the third quarter and the race to the finish was on. Karleigh Wike flipped in a hook shot with the left hand to get the scoring started in the quarter and cut the deficit to just one. Wiseman canned her last triple of the afternoon to push the Spiders into the lead and the two sides traded buckets until the 2:12 mark when Hinds-Clarke scored to tie the game for the sixth time. She knocked in a free throw to push the Spiders ahead but that would be their last lead.
Penn took a three-point lead with 27 seconds to go and by the end Richmond put up five triples in that span to no avail. Janelle Hubbard saw her jumper with 0.4 left rim out to close the game, finishing off the first scoreless effort of her career.
The Spiders will be back on action on Thursday (Dec. 15) at Hampton before returning to the Robins Center to square off with East Carolina on Saturday (Dec. 17) in another double-header with the men's basketball team.
