Senior Brittany Ford hit a game-winning jump shot with .9 seconds left to give Saint Joseph's University a 67-66 win against the University of Richmond women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon at the Robins Center.
Junior guard Kara Powell made a layup with 1:42 left to give Richmond a 66-63 lead, but the Hawks responded on the following possession with a jumper to cut the lead to 66-65 with 1:12 remaining.
After a missed Hawk shot, senior guard Danielle Bell grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled by a Saint Joseph's player. Bell was unable to hit either free throw, setting up the game-winner for the Hawks.
"It's hard to be leading most of the game and lose a game that you need to win on the final play," sophomore guard Abby Oliver said.
Oliver scored a career-high 21 points on 7-16 shooting. The Spiders got strong backcourt play as Brittani Shells and Powell added 19 points and 10 points, respectively.
Head coach Michael Shafer said he was proud of the team and its competitiveness throughout the game.
"I don't feel like we lost the game," Shafer said. "They beat us on the final play."
Oliver credited Saint Joseph's with getting second-chance points down the stretch. The Hawks out-rebounded the Spiders 45-34 and scored 13 second-chance points.
Trailing 33-31 at the half, Richmond came out strong to open the second half and took a nine-point lead with 13:00 remaining. But Saint Joseph's did not allow Richmond any more of a lead and hung in down the stretch.
With the loss, the Spiders fell to 16-10 overall and 5-6 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
Before the game, Bell and Nikita Thomas were honored on Senior Day.
Richmond will host Temple University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in their last home game.
Contact staff writer Nick Mider at nick.mider@richmond.edu
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