The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Richmond falls short of A-10 title and automatic NCAA bid

The run for the Atlantic 10 Conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the University of Richmond women's basketball team fell just short after the team lost to the University of Charlotte 59-54 in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday.

Richmond was looking for its first ever A-10 title. With the loss, the Spiders must now wait to see whether they can get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Spiders took a 31-24 lead into the half on the strength of 53.6 percent shooting. Richmond came out strong to start the second half and expanded its lead to eight with 16:17 left in the half.

"We felt real good at the half," senior Johana McKnight said during a radio interview. "[In the second half,] we kept pushing and they pushed back."

A six-point Richmond lead sent the 49ers into a full-court press for the final 15 minutes of the game. The pressure defense by Charlotte forced Richmond turnovers, and Charlotte finished the game outscoring the Spiders 28-17.

"In the women's game without the 10-second rule, [full court pressure] forces you to play deep into the shot clock," Richmond assistant coach Mike McGuire said during a radio interview.

Richmond had chances to tie or take the lead late in the game, but was unable to convert. Sophomore Brittani Shells missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game with 35 seconds left after junior Danielle Bell drew a charge on Charlotte junior Aysha Jones.

"Late in the game, we had some shots go in-and-out," McGuire said. "To their credit they limited us to one shot."

Richmond led in the second half by as many as eight points with 16 minutes left when junior Johanna McKnight hit a jumper to give the Spiders a 37-29 lead.

Charlotte came out the hotter team and held a 15-6 lead after a three-pointer by sophomore Shannon McCallum with 13:26 left in the first. Richmond was able to get a one-point lead with 6:28 in the first half after junior Nikita Thomas took a Charlotte turnover for a lay-up.

It was the third time in three games the Spiders started a tournament game slowly. During the opening round on March 7, Richmond did not score during the first five minutes against Rhode Island and scored only 20 first-half points against Dayton yesterday in the semifinals.

Shells scored 20 points but turned the ball over nine times against Charlotte. Richmond came into the game averaging about 15 turnovers per game, but Charlotte's relentless defense forced 26 turnovers.

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McKnight finished with 14 points in what may be her final game. While the outcome was not what she wanted, McKnight did not allow that to diminish the importance of the game.

"It feels real good to come this far and play our best," she said.

It's the second time Richmond has lost to the 49ers this season. On Jan. 27 at the Robins Center, Richmond lost 62-55 after shooting only 29.7 percent for the game.

After getting outrebounded 44-31 by the 49ers during the first meeting, the Spiders closed the gap, but were still outrebounded 35-34. The Richmond defense also did a better job of limiting the impact of Charlotte's top players. Senior Danielle Burgin had a double-double during the first game, but she finished with only eight points and seven rebounds.

"They got second chance points and we didn't," McGuire said. "We thought rebounding would be key, and it was."

McCallum almost single-handily gave the A-10 title to Charlotte with both her offensive and her defensive play. She scored 22 points and had five key steals.

Richmond must now wait to hear where it will play next. If it does not make it to the NCAA Tournament, the team will most likely head to the Women's National Invitational Tournament.

It will be challenging for Richmond to get a bid into the NCAAs. Besides Charlotte, both Xavier University and Temple University are projected to make the tournament. The A-10 is not expected to send four teams.

But the team is not letting the uncertainty affect its spirits.

"We'll go back to Richmond, regroup, and practice and play the waiting game," McGuire said.

Contact staff writer Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu

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