Feb. 6, 2008
Final Stats
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -
The Spiders shot a sizzling 52.9 percent from the floor and placed three players in double figures en route to a 62-48 victory over the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team Wednesday evening on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center.
The Brown and White's second straight loss dropped the club's overall record to 15-8 (3-5) on the season, while Richmond evened its season mark at 11-11 (4-3) to snap a two-game losing streak to the Bonnies.
Despite conceding only 62 points on the night, the Spiders connected on 29-of-55 field goals while forcing the Bonnies to shoot their second lowest percentage of the season at a 29.8 percent (17-57) rate. Bonaventure's 48 points also matched the club's third lowest scoring output of the season equaling their 48-point effort at Rhode Island earlier this year.
Junior Erica Schiefen reached double figures for the seventh time this season with a team-high 11 points, while fellow classmate Tiara Johnson added 10 points and eight rebounds. Despite suffering through a 4-for-19 shooting performance from the field, sophomore Dana Mitchell tallied her fifth double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 caroms. The Atlantic 10's leading scorer matched her lowest offensive effort of the season, but extended her double digit scoring streak to 24 games dating back to last year.
Rookie Brittani Shells tallied a game-high 18 points thanks to a 9-of-12 effort from the field, while freshman Crystal Goring and junior Johanna McKnight contributed with 12 points apiece.
"This was an absolutely unacceptable performance on our part and has been the second straight game in which we dug ourselves a huge hole that we were unable to overcome," said head coach Jim Crowley. "Richmond executed very well, while their guards and size had a huge impact in the outcome."
The Spiders raced out of the locker room firing, connecting on their first three and 6-of-8 shots in the opening minutes to stretch their lead to 19 points thanks to an early 11-4 run. Richmond scored in a variety of ways to open the half as its lead ballooned to almost 20 points on two different occasions.
Hoping to emulate their run from two games ago in a thrilling come-from-behind win over Duquesne, Bona retaliated with nine of 11 points to trim the Spider lead to 12 at 46-34 with 11:02 showing on the scoreboard.
Schiefen started the scoring with her second triple of the night from the left corner. Junior Ashley Edwards followed by finishing at the goal on a slashing drive before Johnson tallied four straight points off a short pull-up jumper and an easy lay up.
The Brown and White would later cut the lead to 11 at the 5:20 mark following a traditional three-point play from junior Katelyn Murray and Mitchell's jumper from the top of the key to make the count 50-39.
However, that would be the closest the Bonnies would come the rest of the way as Richmond tallied the contest's next eight points to extend its lead to 19 at 58-39 with just under four minutes left. The combination of rookies Goring and Shells accounted for all eight of the visiting Spiders' points.
Bona closed the game on a 9-4 run thanks to a full-court pressure to chisel seven points off the deficit at the final buzzer. Schiefen recorded five of her points in the final three-plus minutes.
A careless opening session with 13 Bonnie turnovers (19 total) in the first 20 minutes of action led to a 33-21 advantage for the Spiders at the break. The Bonnies shot a dismal 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from the field to start the game, while allowing Richmond to connect at a blistering 55.6 (15-for-17) percent clip. Shells paced the Spiders with 12 points in the first half.
It was the third straight contest in which the Bonnies faced an uphill battle entering the second stanza, while the club's 21 points at intermission was their third lowest offensive output of the season.
The Bonnies used an early 7-2 run to break open a tie game at 11-6 capped by five consecutive points from Murray. The Harrisburg, Pa. native earned a pair of shots at the stripe in which she drained followed by the 124th three-pointer of her three-year career.
Richmond quickly responded with 12 of the next 16 points to take a three-point advantage at 18-15 thanks to a pair of deep triples from sophomore Danielle Bell. Mitchell tallied the first of two Bona field goals during the span with a baseline jumper that ended a three-plus minute scoreless drought.
After just a pair of field goals in nearly nine minutes and only trailing by three points, Schiefen connected on a wide open trifecta from the right corner to knot the score at 18-18 with 5:10 remaining.
The Spiders closed the first frame with a 15-3 spurt to grab a 33-21 lead heading into intermission. Shells ignited the run with a pretty spinning lay up in the lane prior to a steal in the Bona backcourt that led to an easy basket from McKnight.
Richmond followed with back-to-back buckets on consecutive possessions before McKnight knocked down a long-range triple to extend the Spiders' advantage to double digits for the first time at 29-18. Shells continued her scoring surge with two nifty runners coupled in between three free throws from the Bonnies.
St. Bonaventure failed to notch a single field goal in the final six-plus minutes of the first half, scoring only three points on a 3-for-4 performance from the stripe.
The Brown and White return to the road for a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference tilts beginning with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 9.
