University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
9-11 (3-4 A-10)
George Mason
11-10 (4-4 A-10)
Spiders Drop Tough One to George Mason at Home, 54-50
01/23/2017 | Women's Basketball
UNIVERISTY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team (9-11, 3-4 A-10) battled back from multiple deficits on Sunday afternoon, matching run for run with George Mason (11-10, 4-4 A-10) but was unable to find one last run in the end, ultimately falling, 54-50, at home.
The Spiders were paced in the scoring column by Jaide Hinds-Clarke, who scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench, and Janelle Hubbard who scored 12 points to go with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Micaela Parson was the do-it-all player for the Spiders, scoring five points, grabbing seven boards and handing out five helpers.
Freshman Amy Duggan and Ragan Wiseman each added six while Taisha Murphy pitched in five. Alicia Hudalla made her return to the starting lineup and scored two points, matched with three rebounds and an assist.
The defense continued to do its part, holding George Mason to just 30.8 percent from the floor but the Spiders were unable to overcome their own shooting woes at 29.3 percent. The Spiders knocked down one more triple than Mason (7-6) but made seven fewer free throws on seven fewer attempts to create the margin.
This one took a little while to get ramped up. Neither side managed to score until the 5:15 mark in the first quarter when George Mason finally converted inside, drew a foul and knocked in the free throw to take an early, 3-0, lead. The Patriots led 5-0 when Richmond finally got on the bard with a triple from Amy Duggan at the 2:36 mark. Parson followed with a three ball of her own on the very next possession to give the Spiders their fist lead, just like that. By the end of the first quarter the score was tied, 8-8.
It was more of the same in the second quarter. The first basket wasn't scored until there was 7:49 left in the half. This time is was sophomore Taisha Murphy pulling up in transition and dropping in a three ball to ignite a 7-0 Spider run that forced George Mason to call a timeout. Richmond built a 20-14 lead by the 3:47 mark but the Patriots closed the half on a 7-0 run of their own to take a one-point advantage into the locker rooms after Parson's shot at the buzzer fell short.
George Mason held a two-point advantage when Hubbard hit her first three ball of the third quarter, pushing Richmond ahead by one. Mason battled back to tie the score at 25 but then it was Hubbard going back-to-back possessions with a jumper followed by a deep three to make it a five-point game with 5:06 to go. The seesaw effort rolled on, however, as Mason erased the lead with a 9-2 run in less than two minutes to reclaim the lead. By the end of the third quarter it was Richmond who trailed, 38-36.
Mason built a six-point lead, 49-43, by the 4:23 mark in the fourth quarter. At that point, Hinds-Clarke collected a nice pass from Parson and finished strong inside. Two possessions later, Duggan grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to make it a two-point game. Free throws put Mason back up but four but Hubbard answered with a runner in the lane and Hinds-Clarke later added a free throw to cut it to one with 49 seconds left. A Mason free throw made it a two-point game but Richmond had a chance to tie with less than 20 seconds to go. Hubbard's jumper rimmed out and Mason made its free throws to seal this one.
The Spiders will now hit the road for the next two, traveling to Duquesne (Jan. 25) and Davidson (Jan. 28) before returning home to face cross-town rival VCU in the Robins Center on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.
