Women's basketball loses in quarterfinals

Richmond women’s basketball lost to the Fordham Rams in the final seconds of Friday’s quarterfinal matchup in the Atlantic 10 tournament, potentially ending the Spiders’ season.

With 10 seconds left in a back-and-forth game, Gen Okoro drew a foul after an offensive rebound with her team down two points. She came through big, making both of her free throws to tie the game. On the ensuing Rams’ possession, Fordham’s Taryn Durant drew a foul with 1.7 seconds left, making her first free throw and missing the second to put Fordham up by one. Lauren Tolson’s desperation shot from behind half court missed and the Spiders lost 46-45.

The Spiders shot poorly throughout the game and struggled to score points, but played excellent defense as Fordham’s 46 points marked the second lowest by a Richmond opponent all season. Micaela Parson led the team with 12 points and Janelle Hubbard was the only other Spider to crack double figures, scoring 11 points.

Not a single Spider managed to shoot 50 percent from the field. Liz Brown fouled out with about two minutes to play, leaving Richmond vulnerable inside.

This loss comes a day after Richmond beat University of Massachusetts 67-63 in the first round of the A-10 tournament to advance. The Spiders couldn’t build momentum though, and are now out of the conference tournament. It was the Spiders’ second loss to Fordham this season, the first being another one-point heartbreaker in early January.

This might not be the end of the season for the Spiders though. While an NCAA tournament berth seems unlikely, the Spiders are potentially in consideration for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Richmond hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2005.

Should a WNIT bid elude them, the Spiders will face some pressing decisions moving forward.

First, the Richmond frontcourt will suffer enormously because of graduation. In addition to losing starters Okoro and Brown, the Spiders will also lose Yazmean Burgess. The three ranked first, second and third, respectively, in minutes played among the Spiders’ forwards.

Richmond’s frontcourt next year will lack experience, and it will be interesting to see how head coach Michael Shafer allocates the newly abundant minutes. The Spiders also lose senior Keri Soppe, a wily backcourt presence who could play either guard position.

Another decision will be who to start at point guard next season. Although Kylie Murphree seized the starting job early in the season, Parson saw more playing time in both tournament games. Both players are valuable, especially as freshmen. They could probably share the court without losing much, but that almost certainly won’t happen next year with Janelle Hubbard and Lauren Tolson needing backcourt minutes as the team’s two best scoring options.

In the meantime, the Spiders (18-13) might not be done yet this season. The WNIT announces berths March 16, and it wouldn’t be unrealistic for Richmond to secure one.