Dayton slows Shells, Oliver in 66-55 victory over Richmond

Brittani Shells hung her head as University of Dayton guard Patrice Lalor made two free throws to give the Flyers a 60-53 lead over the University of Richmond women's basketball team. With less than two minutes to play, Shells missed a six-foot shot that would have cut Dayton's lead from five points to three points. Dayton went on to extend its lead in the final minute, handing the Spiders their first Atlantic 10 Conference loss, 66-55, Saturday night at the Robins Center.

The loss also snapped Richmond's four-game winning streak.

"Abby [Oliver] and I are the main scorers on this team," Shells said. "If one of us is off, hopefully one of us steps up. If not, it's going to be a tough game."

While Shells and Oliver both scored in double figures, their totals were below their season averages. Shells scored 16 points, but made none of the eight shots she attempted from behind the 3-point line. Oliver added 10 points, five shy of her season average.

Shells said she was going to prepare for the team's next game against Charlotte at noon on Jan. 26 by resting.

"We've been playing since August," she said. "We're tired. The freshman may have hit a wall. They're not used to playing this many games."

Michael Shafer, head coach of the women's team, said this week's schedule was hard on his team.

"The reality is we had to play three games this week," he said. "Two of them were on the road."

Both of those road games were victories. On Sunday the Spiders traveled to the University of Rhode Island. On Wednesday they played in Pittsburgh against Duquesne University.

"We're going to take tomorrow off," he said.

Shafer said he wasn't worried about his team, however.

"My concern is how they handle the loss," he said. "But it's only one loss."

At the end of the first half, Dayton went on a 14-0 run and led the Spiders 34-25. But the Spiders returned to court in the second half with a new intensity. A 12-point run of their own gave the Spiders the lead 37-34 with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

Dayton's up-tempo play consistency from the free-throw line proved too much for the Spiders, however. The Flyers made 29 of the 31 foul shots they attempted.

"We had some highs and lows," said Crystal Goring, who scored 17 points for the Spiders.

"We're disappointed in our performance. Right now we're sad, but we're going to have to bounce back from it."

Contact staff writer Zak Kozuchowski at zak.kozuchowski@richmond.edu