University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
11-14, 5-7 A-10
Dayton
17-7, 11-1 A-10
Richmond Battles but Falls Short at A-10 Leader Dayton
02/09/2017 | Women's Basketball
DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Richmond women's basketball team (11-14, 5-7 A-10) went into UD Arena and battled the league's top team up and down all night but Dayton (17-7, 11-1 A-10) was able to pull away from the resilient Spiders in the second half to claim the, 55-39, victory.
Jaide Hinds-Clarke was the lone Spider to reach double-figures on Wednesday night, she tossed in 10 points to go with three rebounds while Micaela Parson pitched in eight points along with four boards. Kylie Murphree scored five points and crossed gave out five helpers to cross the 100-assist barrier for the second time is as many seasons.
Richmond stayed in the game early on despite its struggles shooting the ball. Dayton shot over 40 percent on its home floor and 7-19 from long range to keep the Spiders at bay.
The Flyers won the tip and scored quickly but the pace favored the Spiders from then on. Murphree drove the lane and scored the first Richmond points with 6:55 to play in the quarter but that only tied the score, 2-2. Spiders went on to score on each of their next two possessions to push ahead, 6-3, before a Dayton triple tied the score at the 4:39 mark. The score remained knotted when the media timeout finally arrived with 2:23 to play in the quarter. Hubbard knocked down a free throw out of the timeout then a couple possessions later responded to a Dayton jumper with one of her own to close the quarter with her team in front 9-8.
Dayton took the lead back on its first possession of the second quarter and extended it out to four before the Spiders scored with a free throw from Amy Duggan at the 7:36 mark. On the next Richmond possession Parson drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one but that was as close as the Spiders came in the second.
With the Spiders trailing by six, 20-14, with 2:53 to go, Taisha Murphy let fly a long triple from the left side that found its mark to cut the lead in half but that was all the scoring for UR in the quarter. Dayton closed the half with four-straight to take the largest lead of the game into the locker room, 24-17.
Richmond tamed the Dayton offense in the first quarter (3-12, 25 percent) but was unable to match that effort in the second to create the difference in this one. Spider starters Ragan Wiseman and Micaela Parson spent much of the first half on the shelf with two fouls apiece but the bench stepped up in their absence to keep the Spiders alive. Jaide Hinds-Clarke scored four points to lead the team in the first half to go with three rebounds.
Dayton began the second half with a long three in the corner to immediately push the lead to 10 but Wiseman responded with a 15-footer off glass. On the next Spider possession Hubbard collected an offensive rebound and worked the ball to Parson who found a cutting Alicia Hudalla for an easy bucket. But once again Dayton responded, first with a free throw, then with a triple to keep it a 10-point game with 6:52 to go in the quarter.
Parson dropped in a jumper before the official media timeout with 4:03 left in the quarter and Hinds-Clarke shook loose in the post on the next trip, scoring over a much larger defender to make it a six-point game with 3:18 to go in the third. But it was the home side that closed the quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 43-27 advantage into the final frame.
Murphree and Hudalla began the fourth with back-to-back triples for the Spiders, dropping the deficit to just 10 but that was as close as the resilient visitors came in this one. Dayton immediately pushed its lead back to 14 with a quick run. The Spiders tried the keep up the pace from distance but it was mostly basket trading down the stretch, as Dayton was able to pull away for the win.
The Spiders remain on the road and will travel to Fairfax this Sunday (Feb. 12) for a rematch with George Mason. The Patriots got the best of the Spiders in the Robins Center earlier this season in a close game. Tip in Fairfax is scheduled for 2 p.m.
