Second-half struggles against Duquesne sink Spiders

The only thing colder than the snow storm outside the Robins Center Saturday was the Richmond women's basketball team during the second half of its 79-60 loss to Duquesne University.

After playing a solid first twenty minutes, the Spiders entered the locker room with a 33-28 lead over the Dukes. They then went on a nearly 10-minute scoring drought to begin the second half. During this stretch, the Dukes scored 24 unanswered points and solidified a lead that would prove insurmountable to the Spiders.

"We wanted to stop transition, win the rebound battle and contain penetration," said coach Michael Shafer. "We didn't."

Much of the Spiders recent struggles have stemmed from the scoring slump of their star point guard Brittani Shells. Shells shot 7 for 39 during the team's past two losses to Dayton and Charlotte and entered the game with a chance to improve her efficiency.

Shells shot 4 for 8 against the Dukes. Although her percentages were well up, her scoring was still significantly below her 17.3 ppg season average, which leads the Atlantic 10 conference.

"[She's] got to let the game come to her," Shafer said. "[Tonight] she let the game come to her too much. She's a creator and needs to find that balance between when to pass and shoot."

Sophomore Abby Oliver led Richmond's scorers with 16 points and went 3 for 4 from behind the 3-point line.

In the end, Duquesne's full court pressure proved to be too much, as they forced Richmond to commit 20 turnovers.

Richmond, now 14-7 and 3-3 in the A-10, can rebound from a three-game losing streak at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 3, when it plays Fordham University (8-14, 2-5) at home.

Contact reporter Brenton Lewis at brenton.lewis@richmond.edu