Spiders Battle at Saint Joseph's but go down swinging, 81-72

Wednesday, January 10

Philadelphia, PA

12:00 PM

University of Richmond

7-10,2-2 A-10

Saint Joseph's

8-8, 3-1 A-10

Richmond

Saint Joseph's

Spiders Battle at Saint Joseph's but go down swinging, 81-72

01/10/2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Matt Moretti III (@Moretts13)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team (7-10, 2-2 Atlantic 10) found itself in a nationally televised battle at Saint Joseph's (8-8, 3-1 A-10) on Wednesday afternoon. After a hot start the Spiders battled back from multiple deficits and had chances at the end but it was SJU that ultimately prevailed, 81-72.

The Spiders were led once again by the Parson sisters. Micaela scored 21 points on 5-18 from the floor and 10-11 from the free throw line and was one of six players to lead the team with three rebounds. Alex found her stroke in the second half and scored all 18 of her points after the break. She was 6-11 from the floor, 3-4 from deep and 3-3 at the charity stripe with an assist.

The difference in the game came on the glass where the Spiders were bested, 49-29. Saint Joseph's was one of just two teams coming into this contest that ranked better than the Spiders in the league in terms of rebounding numbers. Richmond won the second half of this game, 40-34, but a second-quarter drought cost the Spiders despite multiple valiant comebacks.

The Spiders came out hot, knocking down each of their first five shots from the floor, but never managed to lead by more than three during the first quarter. SJU knotted the score at 10 at the 6:50 mark and this game was off and running. There went on to be four ties during the opening frame and the Spiders trailed, 25-19, at the end of it despite shooting 53 percent from the floor. The Hawks were able to control the boards (15-3), which went a long way toward building the lead.

Kailyn Fee drove the lane and scored to start the second quarter. She was one of seven Spiders to put points on the board by that point in the game. SJU answered with a three ball then it was Micaela Parson who scored the next seven for Richmond. By that time however SJU was able to grow its lead to double-digits and led by as many as 17 at the 1:17 mark while the Spiders struggled to find a rhythm offensively.

Tonysha Curry scored the final points of the half off a nice feed from Alicia Hudalla to leave her team with a 15-point deficit at the break. Richmond was out-battled on the boards, 28-11, by the much larger lineup of SJU during the first half but the Spiders were able to keep pace by collecting 13 points off the bench against just two from the Hawks.

The Spiders came out in the third quarter with fire and fury. The defensive intensity was totally different and the offense benefited from it. Micaela started the quarter with a driving score and led the way as the SJU lead was trimmed to 11 three times by 3:24 mark.

The defense made a couple of stops and then forced a turnover that led to Micaela drawing a foul on the other end in transition. She knocked down both free throws to make it a nine-point game with 1:35 left and Alex Parson canned her first jumper of the game on the next possession to cut it to seven, forcing the Hawks into a timeout. The home side scored four-straight to close the quarter but the seed had been planted and the deficit was only 11 heading into the fourth and final quarter.

Saint Joseph's started hot in the fourth and quickly grew its lead to 19, 66-47, with 8:28 to play in the game. From that point forward it was the Alex Parson show. She went on to score 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, including a stretch where she knocked down three-consecutive triples to get the lead back down to 11 with 2:13 to go. The Hawks responded however and kept the Spiders at arms length. A Dee Hatcher jumper in the closing moments gave this one a final score of 81-72 in favor of the home team.

The Spiders will now turn their attention to Davidson, which visits the Robins Center on Sunday (Jan. 14) for a 2 p.m. tip.