By Kyle Soppe
Richmond (2-0) coach Michael Shafer stated that his young team “has talent, just need experience” in a pregame interview, and that talent was on display at the Robbins Center Monday night. Shafer, a 1994 graduate of William and Mary, was rewarded with his trust in his young guns, as Freshmen starters Miah Register (12 points, 6 assists, and 7 rebounds) and Liz Brown (10 points and 6 rebounds) played exceptional in the Spiders 77-57 win. The lone senior would not be outdone, as Abby Oliver led all scorers with 19 points on 8/15 shooting.
Richmond wasted no time getting started, as red-shirt junior Rachel Bilney drained a three pointer off of the opening tip. William and Mary’s Katherine DeHenzel got the visitors on the board with a break away layup, but Bilney would not be stopped in the early going. She connected on all three of her shots from behind the arc in the first 12 minutes, and also added a floater to push the Spiders ahead, 21-15. Behind solid play from Register and Brown, Richmond led 35-24 at halftime, with star Abby Oliver struggling to get going on the offensive end. As was the story in the season opener, the Spiders dominated the glass. Their 25-15 advantage enabled them to maintain a sizable lead.
William and Mary emerged from the locker rooms ready to play, and outscored Richmond 7-2 in the early going. As a team filled with youth, a second half collapse seemed possible, but the Spiders showed maturity beyond their years. They responded by scoring 9 of the games next 10 points, resulting in a 46-32 lead. The first sign of Oliver catching fire concluded the run, as she swished a deep three, set up by Register. The run continued as Gen Okoro put back a missed jump shot, extending Richmond’s lead to 54-35 with 10 minutes to play.
Once Oliver’s smooth jumper began to fall, Richmond could not be stopped. Following a pull up jump shot, the senior rattled home a deep 3, pushing the difference to 22. “That was as good as we’ve played” a satisfied Shafer said after the game. The rebounding was expected to be a strength, but the team work is ahead of where most would have expected: “We had 18 assists on 32 buckets. That’s really really good”. The defense was up to the challenge of limiting the sharp shooting Tribe, forcing 31 turnovers and holding them to only one made three point field goal.
The Spiders stay home for a meeting with Boston University on Friday. It’s early in the season, but Shafer’s talent is getting the best kind of experience: the experience of winning.
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