Women's Basketball Atlantic 10 Conference

Richmond Moves Past Davidson in Opening Game of 2016 #A10WBB Championship

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RICHMOND, Va. - Sophomore guard Micaela Parson scored a career-high 33 points, going 18-of-21 from the free throw line to lead #13 seeded Richmond to a 70-51 victory over #12 Davidson in the opening game of the 2016 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Tournament at the Richmond Coliseum.

Richmond (13-17) built a 36-20 halftime lead by virtue of 56.5 percent shooting from the field. The Wildcats (11-19) turned to full court pressure in the third period, using improved shooting to get within eleven points late in the third quarter. But a three-point play by Parson coming after two missed Davidson free throws with 6:33 left in the game gave the Spiders a 16-point lead, and the Wildcats did not threaten again.

"I thought our basketball team came out very confident, shot the ball well," said Richmond head coach Michael Shafer. "We've improved defensively in February. We've had to reinvent ourselves since mid-January. I'm really proud of the way they've played.

"I saw what (Davidson) was doing down low in the first half, so I thought, why not keep it going?," Parson noted concerning her decision to continually attack the basket. "Sometimes I didn't get the foul, but the majority of the time it really worked."

Despite just a 35-32 rebounding advantage, the Spiders used quickness and positioning, creating more offensive opportunities. Janelle Hubbard added fourteen points for Richmond, while Kylie Murphree scored eight points. The Spiders outscored Davidson at the line 26-9.

"We dug ourselves into the a hole early, but we never quit," said Davidson head coach Michele Savage, who has led the Wildcats through both of their Atlantic 10 campaigns. "We were in a lot of games this year, we would tighten our defensive belts, instead of having a back-breaking play and find ourselves out of it. It will take maturity to continue to change."

Dakota Dukes ended her Davidson career as their leading scorer with 14 points, while Mackenzie Latt added 13, and Hannah Early had six points, ten rebounds and four assists.

The Spiders advance to face crosstown rival, fifth-seeded VCU in the second round on Thursday at 2pm. The two teams split their regular season meetings, with the Rams winning 53-42 at home January 25th, while the Spiders defeated VCU 62-50 on February 14th.