By Kyle Soppe
Losing at the buzzer hurts about as much as any single event in the world of sports. To compete so hard for so long, and have nothing to show for your efforts, can derail even the most focused of teams. The Richmond Spiders faced the daunting task of erasing the nightmare finish against Temple, and battling a talented George Washington team. To say they bounced back nicely would be a massive understatement, as they prevailed 74-57, thanks to a huge second half, and a historic night from their shooting guard.
With conference play underway, scoring for teams’ top options figures to toughen, and this match up was no exception. Abby Oliver (16.6 points per game) and Danni Jackson (12.7 ppg) were taken away in the early going, forcing other options to step up. For the Spiders, it was Rachel Bilney, who had only topped 10 points once since Christmas. Bilney got Richmond on the board quickly as Gen Okoro won the tip to Oliver who immediately targeted the red shirt junior for a wide open triple. As we’ve seen so many times this year, Bilney followed up a long shot with an aggressive right handed drive for an easy two. With her confidence growing, Bilney took her Colonial defender off of the bounce and drew a shooting foul. The 96% free throw shooter canned both attempts, and Richmond was up 7-4 courtesy of Bilney alone.
But as Bilney took advantage of the attention being paid to Oliver, Tara Booker made the most of her increased role. She led off GW’s scoring with a mid range jumper off of a nice find from Tiana Myers. She seemed determined to match Bilney, and drove strong to the bucket after Bilney knocked down her two freebies. Booker snatched an offensive rebound and converted a short jump shot in which she was hacked by Spider center Liz Brown. The three point play evened the score at 7, but Booker wasn’t finished. Again displaying her soft touch, Booker dropped in another deuce from 10 feet.
Jackson and Oliver benefited from their teammates stepping into the scoring role, and eventually found their comfort zone. Oliver connected on her patented pull up jumper, her first shot attempt. Not to be outdone, Megan Nipe targeted Jackson behind the three point line, and the 5’3″ guard hit nothing but net, giving the Colonials their largest lead at 17-12.
For Oliver, it is not a matter of if the shots will fall, rather when. Being the complete player that she is, she played hard nosed defense until her offensive game came around. Oliver drew two charges in a span of four GW possessions, preventing the Spiders from falling further behind. Following another Jackson bucket, Oliver decided it was time to be aggressive on the offensive end. The lone Spider senior penetrated the suffocating man to man GW defense, and delivered an old fashioned three point play. A more standard three point possession followed for Oliver, as she rained in a deep catch and shoot trey from the top of the key. The sudden surge led Richmond into the locker rooms with a 32-30 advantage.
Becca Wann was held scoreless in the first half of her second consecutive start, but did tally a game high seven early rebounds. Kristina King provided a valuable spark with an open three pointer and a mid range bucket.
Bilney, who led all scorers with 13 in the first half, rediscovered her hot hand, and paced the Spiders to an early run. Oliver and Bilney connected on not one, not two, but three straight three balls, extending the UR lead to 49-43. Some say that a team that shoots a high volume of three pointers will eventually “die by the jump shot”, but that logic proved false for the sweet shooting Spiders.
After Meyers drilled back to back jump shots, it was the unlimited range of Richmond that proved the difference maker. Bilney kept launching from well beyond the arc, and simply couldn’t miss. She caught the ball in what most coaches would label a spot on the court in which they can’t be hurt. But to the contrary, Bilney loaded up and released. Seemingly as easy as shooting a pebble into the ocean, there was no doubt where this shot was headed: the bottom of the net.
Sam Bilney connected on only her second three pointer of the season, as if she was battling with her sister for some of the spotlight. Not to be outdone, Rachel caught a pass from her fraternal twin, and cashed in her seventh three pointer of the game. The seven long balls tied a Richmond school record that was set before she was born (February 14 1990). With the game no longer in question, all attention turned to how many points Bilney would finish with.
Bilney equaled her career high in points in the second half alone, and broke UR’s three point record in the process. With 5 seconds remaining, Bilney chucked up a final three point attempt to beat the shot clock. If you need me to tell you the result of the shot, you’re clearly not paying attention.
For the night, she connected on 8/9 triples and all six of her free throws for a career high 32 points. She dished out a game high six assists and even managed to grab five rebounds. Add in her game high three steals, and it is safe to assume she will sleep well tonight. Her one minute of rest was enough, as adrenaline carried her to a season high 39 minutes.
Overshadowed by the Bilney display was the 17 points from Oliver and a productive eight point, three rebound performance out of reserve Kristina King. The Spiders made all 16 of their free throw attempts and outscored the Colonials by 24 from deep. If there was any doubt about this teams ability to bounce back from a devastating defeat, they no longer exist.
Richmond will head to the road for four of their next five games, beginning with a trip to UMass on Saturday.
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