By Kyle Soppe
Senior night at UR was all about their lone senior, Abby Oliver. She was recognized before the game with a ceremony, and wasn’t properly recognized by Fordham’s defense, as the Roanoke native buried the Rams, 63-50.
A projected defensive battle started with both offenses clicking on all cylinders in the early going. Charlotte Stoddart swished home a corner three pointer to get things started for the visiting Rams. After a Becca Wann put back, Stoddart made a fading scoop shot as she swept across the lane from left to right.
The Rams’ starters outplayed the Spiders top five in the first few minutes, but the substitution of Gen Okoro helped Richmond weather the hot shooting start from Fordham. While the Rams made five of their first six field goal attempts, Okoro scored on her first two possessions in the game, including the deepest jumper she has made all season. The Fordham defender sagged off of one of the most athletic players in the A-10, so Okoro lined up the deep deuce and connected. The Spiders high scoring back court was held without a point while the Rams took 13-8 advantage.
The Spiders were making deep twos, but Fordham took the extra step back and were getting three points for nearly every basket. The starting five combined to can six of 10 triples in the games first 11 minutes. Becky Peters and Stoddart hit two apiece, as the Rams scored 18 of their first 22 points from behind the arc. They were sharing the ball effectively as well, as they recorded seven assists on their first eight buckets.
A highlight reel right handed cross over led to a twisting reverse layup by Rachel Bilney, giving the Spiders their first lead of the afternoon, 18-16. Once the home team got the lead, Oliver and Liz Brown were determined to keep their team ahead. The 6’3″ freshmen did a bit of everything, as she found Okoro with a beautiful pass despite her defender being draped all over her, for an easy two. Brown took a step back and knocked down a long jump shot to extend the margin to 24-19. Abby Oliver caught an outlet pass following a Fordham misfire, took four hard right handed dribbles and pulled up for her trademark jumper.
With the perimeter game starting to flourish, the complete offensive arsenal was available. Okoro connected on a free throw jump shot, and Rachel Bilney drilled a trey. The effective offense was reminiscent of the early season dominance we saw from the Spiders, and they took a convincing 32-24 lead into the Robins Center locker room.
Following an Abigail Corning three to open the second stanza, the Spiders rattled off six of the games next eight points. The mini spurt was capped by a coast to coast layup by Oliver, putting the home team ahead by a score of 38-27. The difference hoovered around 10 for the majority of the half, until the Rams made a late effort in a desperate attempt to keep pace. Stoddart recorded six straight points to trim the lead to six, but that was short lived. Reserve Kristina King knocked down a left handed pull up jumper from just outside of the paint, and Okoro split a pair of free throws to regain control of the game.
Corning led another quick run, but once again, the Spiders didn’t blink. She tallied five points in 30 seconds, to trim the margin to five points with less than six minutes to play. The following possession saw Becca Wann, a 46% three point shooter for the season, bury a wing trey, dashing the spirits of the Rams. Superior free throw shooting and rebounding enabled the Spiders to finish off Fordham by a final count of 63-50.
Gen Okoro came off of the bench for an impressive 11 point 14 rebound performance. Rachel Bilney added 12 points, but this game belonged to the Richmond senior. Oliver led all scorers with 23 points on 8/13 shooting from the field. She also collected nine rebounds in an emotional senior night.
The Spiders host Duquesne on Wednesday before heading to Charlotte for the season finale on Sunday. Richmond controls their own destiny as far as the A-10 tournament is concerned, as two wins will land them the four seed and a first round bye. Fordham heads to Olean to battle the A-10 leaders in Bonaventure and host St. Louis on Sunday.
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