University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
9-12, 3-5 A-10
Duquesne
11-11, 4-5 A-10
Hubbard, Wiseman Big Nights Not Enough in Loss at Duquesne, 73-61
01/26/2017 | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team (9-12, 3-5 A-10) set the tone early on against Duquesne (11-11, 4-5 A-10) on Wednesday night but was unable to hold off the hard charging Dukes down the stretch, ultimately taking a tough defeat,
Ragan Wiseman drilled four three balls in a game for the first time in her career and came away with a season-best 17 points. She also contributed three assists; also a career-high. Janelle Hubbard added 20 points and Kylie Murphree did her best to include everyone by handing out six assists. Micaela Parson made it a trio of Spiders in double figures by pitching in 11.
Richmond shot 32 percent from the floor in the loss but made seven three balls, its second highest total of the season. The 50 foul calls slowed the pace of the game and Duquesne was able to settle into a rhythm, shooting 45 percent but one of the nation's best three-point defenses kept the Dukes to just 4-16 from long range.
Parson put the Spiders on the board first with a driving layup kicking off a lucrative first quarter for Richmond. Kylie Murphree knocked in her fifth triple of the season to push her team ahead, 9-7, before the first media timeout. At that point, four Spiders had already scored. Wiseman and Hubbard then cashed in back-to-back triples but Duquesne kept it close by shooting 40 percent in the opening frame. With less than a minute to play Wiseman buried her second long ball to push Richmond ahead by five when the buzzer sounded.
Duquesne scored first in the second quarter but Wiseman offset the score with her third triple to give the Spiders their largest lead of the first half. The home side cut the Spider lead down to two but a pair of Hudalla free throws and a Duggan steal and score push the lead right back to six with 6:31 to go in the half. After the media timeout however, Duquesne used a 6-0 run to take back the lead with 3:47 to go. The two sides traded baskets the rest of the half but it was Duquesne that took a 36-33 lead into the break.
The Dukes scored first to start the third quarter but Murphree answered with a three ball, her second of the game to get it back to a two point game. Duquesne pushed it back to a four-point at the 7:12 mark and the score held there until there was 4:14 left when Wiseman bagged her fourth bomb of the evening but that was as close as Richmond came in the third, as the home side was able to build a nine-point advantage by the end of the quarter.
Richmond made its push early in the fourth quarter. Hubbard and Parson combined to score the first five Spider points but Duquesne had answers and built a 12-point lead by the 3:41 mark when the media timeout was called. Hubbard went north of 20 points for the fourth time this season and 18th time in her career but it wouldn't be enough as the Dukes were able to hold off Spiders down the stretch to claim the victory.
The road trip will continue to Davidson where the Spiders will square off with the Wildcats inside Belk Arena on Saturday (Jan. 28) at 2 p.m. That game can be seen on the A-10 Digital Network. Richmond returns to the Robins Center to host crosstown rival VCU on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
