By Kyle Soppe
With top seeded Saint Bonaventure already advancing, both of these March Madness bubble teams knew that with two wins, they would put themselves in a favorable position for the selection crew one week from Monday. Richmond handled the Hawks less than a month ago, when Becca Wann led the Spiders to a 78-59 victory. They dominated the glass, as Wann combined with Gen Okoro and Liz Brown to gather 27 rebounds, helping the Spiders impose their will upon St. Joe’s. Michelle Baker and Ashley Robinson combined for 28 points in the first meeting to pace the visiting Hawks. But this isn’t the same Hawks squad that fell by 19 four weeks ago, and this game was on their court, where they are 13-2 on the season. The suddenly hot and confident Hawks handled Richmond by a score of 69-57, and will play the Bonnies tomorrow at 12:00.
The Hawks clearly made the necessary adjusts after starting both halves slow yesterday, and came out very sharp offensively. Point guard Ashley Prim is the straw that stirs the Hawks drink, and she was at it again to begin this one. She found Katie Kuester with a laser on their secondary transition set, and the lethal shooter buried the open look to give the home team their first lead. Prim then buried an open triple, courtesy of a bone jarring screen set by leading scorer Michelle Baker. Richmond was attacking the rim, to keep the game tight, but they simply had no answer for the play making junior. Prim caught the ball on a reversal, surveyed the rotating defense while dribbling, and without hesitation fit a right handed pass into a tight window to Baker. The high scoring Hawk finished despite contact from Liz Brown (her second foul), giving St. Joe’s an early 13-8 edge.
St. Joe’s produced at a much more efficient level in the games first 11 minutes, but the Spiders used their size and athleticism to dominate the glass and keep the game close. While the Hawks were shooting 50% from the field and 66.7% from distance, the Spiders used a 7-3 edge on the offensive glass en route to an eight point edge in second chance points. Three reserves (Okoro, Keri Soppe, and Ryann Dannelly) all registered put back buckets as Richmond tried to overcome a poor shooting half to remain competitive in this do or die game.
The Hawks dynamic duo of Baker and Kuester threatened to put this game to rest in the first half, as they set each other up on consecutive trips, pushing the lead to 11. Kuester hooked up with Baker on a flawless back door cut for an easy two, and Baker returned the favor as she beat her defender baseline and fired a pass into the weak side corner. Kuester lined up the open triple, and the St. Joe’s offense was functioning as a finely tuned machine.
The lead hoovered around 10 points for the remainder of the half, with Baker carrying the Hawks and Okoro/Wann producing for the Spiders. Baker was able to create her own shot all half long, and ended the half with a perfect baseline pull up, giving the Hawks a 42-33 lead at the break. Richmond’s twosome scored nine of the teams final 11 points to keep the feisty Spiders in it. They fired up 11 more shots than the Hawks, but struggled to get high percentage looks. The A-10’s leading scorer, Abby Oliver, was shut out for the first time in a half this season, as the Hawks chased her off of the three point line and contested every shot.
For those who follow Richmond Women’s Basketball, who do you think sparked a 9-0 run to tie the game in the first 3.5 minutes of the second half with endless hustle and grit?
Yep, Becca Wann was back at it on the biggest stage of her career. The sophomore slashed to the bucket for any easy right handed lay up to open the half, sending a message that no team of hers was going to go down without an absolute battle. Following a three pointer from Rachael Bilney (and if they awarded bonus points for distance, this was surely at least a four pointer), Wann stepped in the Hawks passing lane and pounced on the loose ball that was evading players as if it was programed to do so. Her outlet pass to a streaking Bilney cut the lead to two, filling the Spiders with confidence. Wann again slashed through the lane as an athlete on a mission, and evened the score as she soared in from the right side.
In times of adversity, good teams turn to great players, and that’s what the Hawks did with Michelle Baker. The senior buried a pair of identical pull up jump shots from the left elbow, giving her Hawks a bit of breathing room. But the part of her game that translated the most into the success of St. Joe’s will not show up in a single box score or highlight tape. She defended the top scorer in the conference better than anyone else has this year. Her lock down defense on Abby Oliver (0 points) forced the Spiders into a stagnant state, defusing a typically potent Richmond attack.
“It’s the time of year of have to lean on a few special kids, and Michelle Baker is one of those kids. We made Oliver think a little bit more today. We learned from the first time we played them and did a much better job today,” Coach Griffin said of her star guard.
The Spiders managed only four points in the nine minutes following the Wann led spurt. The offensive talent and defensive heart of Baker was the difference in making a tie game a 10 point game with five minutes remaining.
Richmond simply had no gas left to come back from yet another double digit deficit, and the Hawks (72% for the season) had no problems icing the game with good free throw shooting. St. Joe’s made 20 of 25 free throws on the afternoon as they pulled off the upset.
Michelle Baker led the way with 20 points, and is earning even more respect amongst A-10 teams than her second team all conference selection would suggest. She has made 19 of 32 shots from the field in the Hawks two victories, and is feeling good moving forward.
“I can’t stop smiling. I’m on cloud nine right now. My teammates make me look good and I’m having a ton of fun.”
The impact of Ashley Prim (8/10 from the free throw line) and Kelly Cavallo (8 rebounds) was felt as well, as they filled important roles as Baker handled the creating of shots. Richmond was led by Okoro (17 points and 11 rebounds), Rachael Bileny (14 points), and Wann (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists). This was the youngest team in the conference and have plenty to build on for next season.
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