Richmond ends season with loss to Syracuse in WNIT

The University of Richmond women's basketball team ended its season with a 69-55 loss in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament to Syracuse University on Monday night.

Richmond was leading 39-38 after junior Crystal Goring went 1-2 from the free-throw line with 10:47 left in the game. But a 6-0 run during the next minute by the Orange gave them the lead for good.

Sophomore Rachael Bilney hit a 3-pointer with 2:17 left in the game to close Syracuse's lead to 56-51, but Richmond would get any closer for the rest of the game.

Bilney led the way for Richmond with 11 points. Junior Brittani Shells was the only other Spider to score in double figures as she finished with 10 points, but also committed seven of the team's 16 turnovers.

It was the last game for a pair of Richmond seniors. Danielle Bell finished with eight points and a team-high five assists and Nikita Thomas closed her Richmond career by scoring four points but was limited to eight minutes because of foul trouble.

The loss ends the Spiders' year at 20-13. The year started promising for Richmond with a 14-4 record, but a 83-31 loss at the University of Dayton on Jan. 23 sent the team on a 2-7 stretch.

This is the second consecutive year that Richmond ended its season in the WNIT. The Spiders advanced to the third round before losing to Georgetown -- another Big East Conference team -- last year.

Seven players who were regulars in coach Michael Shafer's rotation return next year, including Shells and sophomore Abby Oliver who emerged as a secondary scorer during the second half of the year.

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