PHILADELPHIA - The Richmond Spiders hit a season-high 13 three-point baskets and prevented the La Salle University Women's Basketball team from connecting on just one, which helped them to a 70-48 victory Friday night in Atlantic 10 Conference action at Tom Gola Arena.
La Salle (15-6, 3-3 A-10), who entering the game was seventh in the country in three-point percentage at 39.4%, failed to knock down one three (0-8) for the first time in 121 games. The last time the Explorers did not hit at least one three pointer was more than four years ago - Jan. 10, 2003 at Dayton.
Richmond (9-12, 3-3 A-10) came into the game shooting just over 30-percent from behind the arc (30.8), but made 13-of-19 (68.4%) in the game, including a 4-for-5 effort by Sarah Williams, who tied for team-high with 16 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Danielle Bell also scored 16 points and was 3-of-4 from three.
The loss also ended the Explorers six-game home winning streak, the longest at Tom Gola Arena in a single season, and gives La Salle its first losing streak of the season - they had won their next game after their previous for defeats.
A bright spot in the Explorers worse defeat in two years - a 70-45 loss to Xavier, Feb. 10, 2005 - was that senior Crista Ricketts (Douglasville, PA/Daniel Boone), who tied for game-high with 18 points, past the 1,500 milestone and is currently tied with Maureen Kramer (1977-81) for third on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,502 points.
Nothing went right for the Explorers, as the Spiders had already built a 10-point lead by the 13:34 mark of the first half. Junior Melanie Gibbons (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) briefly made it an eight-point game with two of her six points on the night at 16-8, but a 16-4 run over the next nine minutes pushed the Richmond lead to 20.
La Salle chipped away at the deficit, getting it to 11 by the half (34-23) as Ricketts scored six and junior Carlene Hightower (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Prendergast) added five of her 18 points in the run. Gibbons would cut the deficit to nine with the first basket out of the break, but a pair of threes on the other end pushed the Richmond lead back to double figures and the Explorers would never get closer.
La Salle continues a three-game home stand by welcoming nationally-ranked (11/12) George Washington to Tom Gola Arena, Sunday with a 1 PM tip.
In that game, as they did in this one, La Salle Women's Basketball, along with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, the A-10, and Coaches vs. Cancer, will be showing support for all coaches in the profession who are battling cancer by wearing pink. They are also taking all ticket revenue from the $2 admission charge and donating directly to cancer research.
