Richmond bounces back, takes down Fordham, 63-50

Bouncing back from its first loss in six games, University of Richmond was able to pull away from Fordham University late in the game Sunday afternoon with a pair of hustle plays and some timely field goals.

After withstanding Fordham's early shooting success, the Spiders built a lead starting midway through the first half and never trailed the rest of the game.

Down 10 points with under five minutes to play, the Rams benefitted from five quick points by guard Abigail Corning to cut the Spiders' lead to five, 52-47, with more than three minutes remaining. Fordham would get no closer.

After Richmond guard Becca Wann hit a deep three-pointer to extend the lead to eight, Rams guard Arielle Collins tried to come back and match it, but her shot clanked off the front rim. The ball bounced around for a few seconds before it rolled toward the half-court line, where it looked as if Collins would retain possession for Fordham. But Richmond senior Abby Oliver dove onto the floor after the ball, forcing a jump ball that gave the ball to the Spiders.

The game marked Senior Day for Oliver, the team's lone senior, and she finished by leading all scorers with 22 points and coming down with nine rebounds. It was the 19th time Oliver has led the Spiders in scoring this season.

"It's kind of an emotional day," Oliver said. "You never think it's going to come and then it comes so quickly, but it's great to have my family and teammates here. I'm glad we got a win too."

Richmond coach Michael Shafer said he had wished Oliver could have played at Richmond forever.

"I don't want her to leave," he said. "I wish I could clone her. She's been a tremendous asset to our program."

After an Oliver layup and two Wann free throws extended the lead to 12, Wann helped put the game away with another hustle play. After getting fouled and heading to the line for a one-and-one free throw opportunity, Wann was alone on the line, as Richmond elected to move its other four players behind half court.

She missed the first free throw, but was able to run into the lane among four Rams players and come away with the ball. A few seconds later, Oliver finished the possession off with a jumper that put the game out of reach.

"It's the epitome of our basketball team," Shafer said. "You can't make this stuff up with Abby diving on the floor and Becca following her own shot. It's competitiveness; you can't coach it. That's why we're successful."

The Spiders went into halftime ahead, 32-24, led by their post play. Forward Genevieve Okoro finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while center Liz Brown tallied six points and three blocks.

"We thought we had an advantage inside to go into them, and they were hitting their shots," Oliver said. "Then Fordham keyed on inside, and the outside shots opened up."

With the win, Richmond moves to 21-6, having won six of its last seven games. The lone loss came last Wednesday, 76-60, at Xavier University at the end of a three-game road trip. Next up for the Spiders is Duquesne University in Richmond's final home game of the season on Wednesday.

Game Notes: Guard Rachael Bilney was the third Spider to finish in double figures with 12 points... Forward Charlotte Stoddart led the way for the Rams with 14 points... Richmond has now won 10 straight games in the series.

Contact staff writer David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu