UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond (1-1) got the game to within three with under a minute to play, but fell short to No. 24 Miami (2-0), 69-63, Monday night.
The pesky Spiders pieced together a mighty second-halfcomeback after finding themselves down 49-34 with 15:22 remaining in the game. The Hurricanes opened the second frame with 13 unanswered points and looked to put the game away early in the last half.
But Richmond staged a 12-2 run in the next five minutes to get back within reach. Rachael Bilney spearheaded the scoring by way of hersignature long-range shot.
A Genevieve Okoro jumper at the 10:14 mark pulled Richmond to within 53-47, and from there the game was a battle. It was Bilney again who got Richmond to 58-55 with 6:03 left, but an ensuing Miami bucket would push the lead back to two possessions.
Two free-throw shots by Liz Brown got Richmond to 64-61 with 42 seconds left, but the Hurricanes buried a three with 17 ticks remaining to seal the win.
In the bucket-for-bucket first half, there were seven lead changes and seven ties. Kerri Soppe had five first-half assists.
Bilney led three Spiders in double-figures with 15 points. The gutsy off-the-bench play of Becca Wann earned her 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Kristina King followed with 12 points, while Genevieve Okoro pulled down a team-high 11 boards.
Richmond had 12 assists and 14 steals.
The Spiders embark on their first road game of the season Friday, Nov. 16 at Boston University. Tip is slated for 7 p.m.
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