The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Xavier's big second half lifts it over Richmond, 79-57

Trailing by nine at the start of the second half, the University of Richmond went more than nine and a half minutes without a field goal and its top-10-ranked opponent, Xavier University, took full advantage, going on a 20-2 run.

Atlantic 10 Conference-leading and No. 6-ranked Xavier led Richmond the entire game, to win 79-57 Wednesday night at the Robins Center.

The lone bright star for the Spiders for this game was senior guard Brittani Shells, who scored a game high 24 points, 17 of which came in the first half.

"I was just trying to keep us in the game," Shells said. "I really wanted to win obviously. We were digging in on the defensive end early, then after halftime, I just felt like we got really complacent and that's when [the Musketeers] went on their run."

The Musketeers opened the game on a 10-0 run, but Richmond fought back with a 7-0 run of its own to keep the game close early. The whole first half seemed to be filled with back and forth of runs, with the half ending 36-27 in favor of Xavier.

Three players scored in double figures for the Musketeers, headlined by preseason all A-10 selections Amber Harris, who had 13 points, and Ta' Shia Phillips, who scored 21. Guard Tyeasha Moss was the other player, scoring 21 including 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc.

Abby Oliver was the only other Spider in double figures with 11, though most of her points came after Xavier had taken out its starters.

"We wanted every one of our kids to have a foot in the paint [on defense] at all times [to help against Harris and Phillips] with the exception for when [Xavier's] shooters had the ball," Richmond coach Michael Shafer said. "One thing we got slack with was at least waving our hands so [the guards] couldn't see directly in. The game plan was going pretty well [in the first], but at the same time [Harris and Phillips] can assert their will and when they do, they're pretty tough to stop."

The win is Xavier's 10th straight since losing consecutive games to ranked opponents on the road and the Musketeers remained unbeaten in conference play.

"The reality of it is, we just played a heck of a basketball team," Shafer said. "We've played two [other] top fifteen teams and it's not even close, [Xavier] is much better."

Shells said, "You can't dwell on it, just gotta take the loss and move on."

Next up for the Spiders, now 15-9, is a trip to Pennsylvania to face Saint Joseph's on Saturday. The win puts Xavier at 20-2 and will look next to a home game with Fordham on Saturday.

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Game Notes:

In addition to being the game's leading scorer, Shells also led all players with four steals. ...Both Harris (11 rebounds) and Phillips (15 rebounds) had double-doubles for the Musketeers. ...Richmond got six points apiece off the bench from sophomore Ryann Dannelly and freshman Genevieve Okoro.

Contact reporter David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu

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