As a native Richmonder, I have grown up knowing the Richmond vs. VCU basketball rivalry. Though it may not be as nationally well-known as, say, the Tobacco Road rivalry of Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, this little East vs.
Finishing with a combined 34 fouls between both team, the University of Richmond women's basketball team's 65-43 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Robins Center over Old Dominion was physical from start to finish.
Virginia Commonwealth University's campus is only a 10-minute drive to the Robins Center, but for the first half on Saturday night, Virginia Commonwealth played like a team that had just arrived from a cross-country flight.
Starting the second half on a 10-3 run, the University of Richmond women's basketball team was able to pull away from the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams on Sunday evening at the Robins Center.
Normally, a basketball player going eight-for-nine from the free-throw line is a positive contribution to her team.
The University of Richmond held an eight-point lead with 9 minutes left against Old Dominion University, but the Monarchs went on a 15-5 run over the next five minutes to propel them to a 77-70 victory Wednesday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Kent Bazemore intercepted an inbound pass intended for Richmond's Kevin Anderson and took it the length of the court for a one-handed dunk to give the Monarchs a 63-61 and the lead for good. The Spiders' late-game comeback attempt fell just short as they pulled within four with 30 seconds left in the game after freshman Cedric Lindsay hit a 3-pointer.
Richmond stunned No. 8 Purdue Saturday night at the Sears Centre in Chicago, 65-54, giving the Spiders their first win over a top-10 team since 2004. Senior guard Kevin Anderson led Richmond (6-1) with 28 points, but Richmond did not rely solely on him.
Before departing for Terre Haute, Ind., to compete in its first NCAA Cross Country Championships, the men's cross country team set a goal of finishing among the top 25 teams in the nation.
Needing a win against the College of William & Mary to keep its playoff chances alive, the University of Richmond instead lost, 41-3, Saturday evening in Williamsburg, Va.
As if the University of Richmond men's basketball team needed to get any deeper, the return of senior forward Kevin Smith gave the Spiders a new dimension in their 82-71 victory against Charleston Southern University Sunday evening at the Robins Center. Smith, a reserve defensive specialist, played his first game of the season and although his stats were modest (five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals), he made his presence felt in other ways. "I thought Kevin Smith really changed the game," Richmond coach Chris Mooney said.
With 18 seconds left in the game, Richmond senior Brittani Shells emerged through a crowd of tired players bumping into each other to claim the inbound pass, stutter stepped and laid the ball perfectly off the backboard to give the Spiders a five-point lead. The inbound play, drawn up by Richmond coach Michael Shafer, proved to be the dagger in the latest women's basketball team victory over the North Carolina State University Wolfpack. A few seconds later, after forcing a Wolfpack turnover, the Spiders ran the same play with Shells again claiming the ball successfully but missing the layup.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. ? For the first time since 2006, there won't be any playoff football in Richmond this year. Needing a win against the College of William & Mary to keep its playoff chances alive, the University of Richmond instead lost, 41-3, Saturday evening in Williamsburg, Va. "Well obviously it didn't turn out the way we expected it to," Richmond coach Latrell Scott said.
With the way the defense has played so far this season, it should come as no surprise that linebacker Eric McBride and defensive tackle Martin Parker helped set up a Richmond touchdown.
The University of Richmond's men's cross country team was ranked 28th in the nation on Tuesday by the Pre-NCAA Championship Division I Coaches' Poll for the first time in team history. The ranking was announced on Tuesday, giving Richmond 46 points as the only team represented in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Shells started all 33 games last year, and averaged 16.7 points per game, the most of any Atlantic 10 player.
All Samantha Bilney has to do is look down to her knees to see what one misstep or awkward landing can do.
No. 18 Richmond will travel to No. 6 William & Mary Saturday in need of a win to make its fourth-straight playoff appearance. William & Mary leads the all-time series 59-55-5, but Richmond has won the last five matchups. "For this season, I can say this is the biggest rivalry we are going to have," senior linebacker Eric McBride said.
? The University of Connecticut women's basketball team, quite arguably the most prolific college basketball team in the past five years (men's or women's), almost got dethroned by the Baylor University Bears on its homecourt.
It's the most wonderful time of the year. It's the hap, happiest season(s) of aaaaaalllll! Now I know Andy Williams was singing about the magical, whimsical Christmahannukwaanzaka season that has slowly but mightily taken over the advertising world, and I do love this time of year as well, but for other reasons. Don't get me wrong: If Taylor Swift's "Last Christmas," or Bobby Helms' quintessential and epic song, "Jingle Bell Rock," come on my iPod shuffle in any season other than the day after Thanksgiving, (which is when my mom allows us to blast Christmas music and begin adorning our house with crappy ornaments we made as kindergartners), I'll let it ride.
We've all heard the football coaches say it. In the movies, in the interviews, in the pep talks, "You've got to play hard for 60 minutes." Aside from the obvious mathematical problems the possibility of overtime can present, recent results in some big-time football games seem to suggest this is just typical coachspeak. In many games, one team jumps to a big lead early on and then just coasts through the rest of the game (see last Sunday's Broncos-Chiefs game where the Broncos went up 35-0 midway through the second quarter). Even more prevalent are the games that are pretty close (often ugly games where neither team is playing particularly well) until one team makes a big play late to decide the outcome. With six wins and four losses this season, the University of Richmond's football team is looking to secure a playoff spot this Saturday at the College of William & Mary.
