Feb. 28, 2013

A-10WBB NOTEBOOK | STANDINGS | STATISTICS

WHAT'S ON TAP
(*denotes A-10 Conference game)
Thursday, February 28
*VCU at Charlotte | 7:00PM
*Dayton at Saint Louis | 8:00PM

RESULTS FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Butler 59, Temple 50
Duquesne 54, La Salle 46            
Fordham 62, St. Bonaventure 50
Xavier 65, George Washington 62
Saint Joseph's 87, Massachusetts 50
Richmond 60, Rhode Island 50

A-10 on the Tube

Sunday will feature a pair of nationally televised matchups between A-10 teams.  CBS Sports Network will carry Rhode Island at VCU, while ESPN2 will feature Saint Joseph's at Dayton.  Both games are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.

Sunday's games are part of twenty-six national television appearances showcasing all 16 member institutions during the 2013 Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Basketball schedule.

In total, ESPN Networks will feature three women's games; two regular season contests and the 2013 A-10 Championship game live from the new state-of-the-art Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on March 16. ESPN will air the league's championship finale for the 16th-straight year. CBS Sports Network will televise an additional 10 games; eight during the regular season and the two semifinal outings at the A-10 Championship, March 10 on the campus of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa.

A-10 SCOOP

-With a win at URI on Wednesday, Richmond is now 5-1 at the Ryan Center.  Richmond's four-game win-streak is a season-high.  Rachael Bilney moved into 18^th place on Richmond's all-time list (1,048 career points).

- Seniors Vanessa Abel, Ahjah Hall, Jocelyn Floyd and Carly Vendemia became the all-time winningest class in Duquesne women's basketball history after defeating La Salle 54-46 at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.   With the victory the Dukes improve to 21-6 overall and 10-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The 10 wins ties the most conference wins for DU since they joined the league in the 1983-84 season.

- Fordham used a stellar first half to push past St. Bonaventure (9-19, 2-11 A-10) in the Rose Hill Gym on Wednesday night. The Rams' 62-50 win gave Fordham (21-7, 11-2 A-10) its 21st victory of the season and put the team in position to lock up a first round bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a win at Temple on Sunday.

-VCU's Robyn Parks recorded back-to-back double-doubles last week, averaging 25.0 points, 15.5 rebounds, 5.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game.  Parks posted first career 20-20 game Wednesday at Richmond with game-highs of 29 points and 20 rebounds (career-high).  Parks now leads the league in scoring, averaging 18.1 ppg.

-Charlotte has pushed its win streak to a school-record tying 11 following Sunday's 73-56 triumph at La Salle; the 11-game win streak is the longest for the program since a run from Dec. 8, 1980, to Jan. 21, 1981; the victory also improved the 49ers' road record in true away games this year to 10-0, remaining the lone Atlantic 10 school to be unbeaten.

-The University of Dayton improved to 12-0 in the Atlantic 10 and sits atop the standings after wins over Duquesne, St. Bonaventure and Temple last week. The Flyers are ranked the highest they have ever been in the AP Poll.  They have also been ranked for 15 consecutive weeks.

-Temple is one of three A-10 teams ranking among the Nation's best in 3pt-FG% defense.   The Owls are ranked third in Division I, allowing their opponents to shoot just 24.5% from behind the arc.   Charlotte is eighth at 24.9%, while Duquesne is 10th at 25%.

-Xavier is currently on a five-game winning streak, the longest of head coach Amy Waugh's career.

-With the 2012-13 UMass women's basketball squad featuring only two seniors and a pair of redshirt-juniors among its upperclassmen, newcomers to the program have received the opportunity to play immediately. Youngsters, those in their first or second year of competition on the floor, complete 3,315 of UMass' 5,400 minutes on the season (61.4 percent) and have accumulated 909 of 1532 points (59.3 percent) and 683 of 1022 rebounds (66.8 percent).

 

WEDNESDAY (2/27) RESULTS

Duquesne 54, La Salle 46
          
PHILADELPHIA - Seniors Vanessa Abel, Ahjah Hall, Jocelyn Floyd and Carly Vendemia became the all-time winningest class in Duquesne women's basketball history after defeating La Salle 54-46 at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.

With the victory the Dukes improve to 21-6 overall and 10-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The 10 wins ties the most conference wins for DU since they joined the league in the 1983-84 season. La Salle falls to 8-20 overall and 4-9 in the A-10.

Abel led the Dukes with 12 points and Stasia King recorded her first-ever double-double with career highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Floyd recorded five steals. Hall had a career-best three blocks.

La Salle's Shanel Harrison scored 10 points and recorded a game-high with 15 rebounds. Jordan Mosley scored a game-high 13 points and Ebonee Jones added 11.

Butler 59, Temple 50

INDIANAPOLIS - Sophomore Taylor Schippers had 19 points and eight rebounds and the Butler women's basketball team held off Temple 59-55 on Wednesday. The win clinched for BU a winning Atlantic 10 record.

The Bulldogs clinched the sixth seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship. They will open tourney play Friday, March 8 against the No. 11 seed at 7:30 p.m.

Neither team shot for a high percentage, but the Bulldogs made the winning plays down the stretch. With Temple leading 50-49 with 3:21 remaining, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to take control of the game. Three points from Schippers and lay-ups from Daress McClung and Liz Stratman gave Butler a 57-50 lead with 45 seconds left. Temple extended the game with fouls, but ran out of time as Butler won its home finale.

McClung finished with 15 points, but the key scoring came from Mandy McDivitt and Lexus Murry. McDivitt and Murry combine to average 6.2 points per game. Against Temple, the two guards each scored eight points. McDivitt hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half and Murry thrived driving to the basket. McDivitt also had four steals.

The Bulldogs overcame slow stretches on offense by making shots from long range. BU hit 8-for-21 on its 3-pointers, including three treys from Schippers.

Temple's Victoria Macaulay totaled 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Seven of her boards were on offense, as TU pulled in 23 offensive rebounds on the night. 

The game served as Senior Night for Becca Bornhorst and manager Evan Eichhorn. Bornhorst started, her 32nd career start, and played 11 minutes. 

Fordham 62, St. Bonaventure 50 | Fordham Highlights

BRONX, N.Y. -- Fordham used a stellar first half to push past St. Bonaventure in the Rose Hill Gym on Wednesday night. The Rams' 62-50 win gave Fordham its 21st victory of the season and put the team in position to lock up a first round bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a win at Temple on Sunday.

Fordham opened the contest on a tear, outscoring the Bonnies 12-4 by the 16 minute mark of the first half. Erin Rooney connected on two three-pointers and a floater for eight points, while Abigail Corning chipped in the other four.

For the first half, the Rams were outstanding from beyond the arc. Fordham converted nine of its 13 attempts from downtown, good enough for 69 percent. Rooney went 3-5, Strickland made 3-4, Corning made both of her attempts and Stoddart drained her lone try from deep.

Rooney led the way for the Rams in the opening half, tallying 13 points. Corning added 12 and Strickland chipped in nine in the first stanza.

After the break, the Rams had trouble finding the offensive success they had to start off the first half, as St. Bonaventure opened the period on a 14-2 run, narrowing the Fordham lead to two, 43-41, seven minutes into the half.  

The Bonnies narrowed the lead back to four, but Strickland came up with a huge three for the Rams, pushing the lead to seven, 56-49, with three and a half minutes to go.

Rooney led all scorers with 19 points on the night, despite fouling out with just under five minutes to go.

Corning put up a monster double-double for the Rams, her third of the year. The junior tri-captain netted 15 points on 5-8 shooting and tied a career-high with 14 rebounds.

Strickland also finished in double figures for the Rams, tallying 16 points on 4-8 shooting from behind the arc.

St. Bonaventure was led by Doris Ortega who  finished with 13 points while CeCe Dixon tossed in 12. Alaina Walker scored 10 points while Katie Healy scored eight and grabbed 11 rebounds. 

Xavier 65, George Washington 62 | Xavier Highlights / Post Game

CINCINNATI -- The Xavier women's basketball team won its fifth straight game Wednesday night with a 65-62 win over Atlantic 10 rival George Washington in the final home game of the season. With the victory, the Musketeers improved to 12-15 overall and 6-7 in the A-10 while the Colonials fell to 12-15 overall and 6-7 in the conference.

Freshman guard Jenna Crittendon led the Musketeers and all scorers with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-13 from the field. Junior Ashley Wanninger was second in scoring with 14 points on 4-of-8 from the field including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Senior Amber Gray was the final Musketeer in double-figures with 10 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

Free throws proved crucial down the stretch as the Musketeers hit 76.5 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe.

GW came out hot in the second half but XU managed to rally late in the game.

George Washington tied the game at 34-all on a 3-pointer by Danni Jackson with 18:59 left in the game. Jackson's trey capped a 13-3 Colonials run that began with 3 minutes left in the first half.

The Colonials took a 38-37 lead on a layup by Chakecia Miller at the 17:14 mark. GW would allow XU to tie the game twice but didn't relinquish the lead until the 1:35 mark when Gray put XU on top 63-60 with an old-fashioned three-point play.

Hawkes put XU up 65-60 with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left to cap a 12-2 run over the final three minutes of action to seal the win.

Saint Joseph's 87, Massachusetts 50 | Saint Joseph's Postgame

PHILADELPHIA - Backed by its senior class, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team downed Massachusetts, 87-50, Wednesday evening at Hagan Arena. The Hawks got a combined 42 points from seniors Chatilla van Grinsven, Mireia Vila, Ashley Prim and Shelby Smith as they earned improved to 20-7 overall and 11-2 in the Atlantic 10.

From the tip, Saint Joseph's was in full control, hitting 5-of-6 from the floor and a pair of free throws as it jumped out to a 13-0 lead.

Leading 36-21, the Hawks opened their lead to 47-23 as Smith scored six of her 11 points during her team's 11-2 run. Saint Joseph's would take a 50-25 lead into halftime as it finished the opening half shooting 63.3 percent from the field (19-of-30), while holding the Minutewomen to 30 percent (9-of-30).

Saint Joseph's would control the second half as it allowed Massachusetts to get no closer than the halftime deficit.

For the game, the Hawks shot a season-best 57.9 percent from the floor (33-of-57), 58.3 percent from three-point range (7-of-12) and 14-of-21 from the foul line. At the other end, the Minutewomen were held to 27 percent shooting (17-of-63), 16.7 percent from behind the arc (4-of-24) and 12-of-16 from the foul line. Saint Joseph's finished with 21 assists and a 42-32 edge in rebounding.

Individually, van Grinsven had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds for her third straight double-double and 14th overall on the year. She added three blocked shots and three steals as well. Junior Ilze Gotfrida added 13 points, while Smith had a season-best 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Additionally all 11 SJU players finished with at least three points as the Hawks earned their 20th win of the season for the third consecutive year.

At the other end, Jasmine Harris scored a team-best 11 points to lead Massachusetts which falls to 3-25 overall and 1-12 in the A-10.

Richmond 60, Rhode Island 50

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Richmond defeated Rhode Island, 60-50, for its fourth-straight win Wednesday night at the Ryan Center.

The Spiders (16-13, 6-7) won its 13^th-straight over Rhode Island and improved to 14-2 all-time against the Rams. Rhode Island (6-21, 1-12) lost its third-straight and 15^th of its last 17 games.

Richmond jumped out to a 21-6 lead early, but Rhode Island used a 12-5 run to close the half to make the score 26-18 Spider advantage at the break.

The Spiders started the second half firing on all cylinders, going on a 14-5 run to boost its lead to 40-23 at the under-16 media.

Rhode Island would make things interesting down the stretch, closing the game on a 24-9 run to cut the score to the would-be final of 60-50.

In the first frame, Richmond shot 10-for-28 (35.7%) from the field and had six steals. Rachael Bilney had eight points to lead Richmond.

Kristina King led Richmond 14 points, with Bilney following with 13 points. Becca Wann chipped in with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sam Bilney dished a team-high six assists and had five steals.

URI freshman Samantha Tabakman scored 11 points. She also had five rebounds and two steals.  Fellow freshman Brianna Thomas led the Rams with 12 points, all of which came in the second half.