Richmond’s women’s basketball team beat the Stetson University Hatters by just one point on Friday night to advance to the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
In a game that consisted mostly of runs by both teams, the Spiders made the one that counted most, outscoring the Hatters 11-5 to end the game. Richmond looked helpless defensively and struggled to score at times, but had stretches where they looked like a completely different team, dominating Stetson at both ends in the 67-66 win.
Gen Okroro had a huge game for Richmond, scoring 19 points, including 15 in the second half, and grabbing 13 rebounds. Lauren Tolson and Janelle Hubbard provided the perimeter-shooting spark for the Spiders, scoring 18 and 17 points respectively.
Stetson’s Brianti Saunders scored 20 points and Myeisha Hall had 18, but their supporting cast couldn’t generate enough offense to pull away from Richmond.
Richmond has struggled with consistency at times and that was certainly a theme of Friday’s win, but the effort was never lacking. Even in the face of a 20-6 Stetson run in the first half, the Spiders were able to stay focused and bring the game within four points by halftime.
The Spiders outrebounded the Hatters 41-36. This was a welcome change for Richmond, a team that hasn’t rebounded particularly well all season. However, the Hatters did have their way down low in terms of scoring, outscoring the Spiders 38-20 in the paint.
For Stetson, the loss broke a 21-game winning streak against non-conference opponents. The win was similarly significant for the Spiders, marking the first time the team has won a WNIT road game since 2010 against Delaware. Though Richmond had unfulfilled conference championship aspirations, they’re in place to have one of the better WNIT finishes in recent program history.
Next up for the Spiders is conference opponent Duquesne, which is coming off an 18-point win against Youngstown St. in the first round. In their matchup earlier this season, Duquesne was able to beat Richmond, but needed an overtime period to do so. The Spiders have their chance at redemption on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.
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