Strong Second Half Not Enough For Minutewomen In 73-62 Loss To Richmond

Jan. 16, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - A strong second half and a career-high 19 points for freshman Jasmine Watson was not enough to help the UMass women's basketball team past Richmond as the squad fell, 73-62 at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Minutewomen are now 1-2 in Atlantic 10 play and 7-11 overall, while the Spiders move to 2-0 in the A-10 and 13-4 on the season.

Watson, who shot 8-for-14 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 at the free throw line, was UMass' top scorer and rebounder on the afternoon. She hauled in eight boards and recorded two assists one block and one steal, as well. Sophomore Kristina Danella followed with 12 points coming off the bench, including 10 in the second half, and shot 5-for-10 on the day.

Redshirt junior Megan Zullo also reached double figures with 11 points and dished a career and game-best seven assists to go along with three steals. Senior Kim Benton tallied six points and four assists, while classmate Diatiema Hill had five assists and five boards.

The Minutewomen held a brief 3-2 lead early in the first half, but a 16-1 run by Richmond quickly put UMass down by 14 with 13:39 remaining in the period. Then with 5:22 on the clock, a Benton three began a stretch of eight straight points for the Minutewomen to cut the deficit to seven at 34-27.

However, the Spiders bounced back after calling timeout and outscored UMass 14-2 in the final 3:04 of the frame. Richmond took a 19-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 48-19, after shooting a blistering 20-for-29 (69.0%) in the first half, including 7-for-10 (70.0%) from beyond the arc. The Minutewomen were limited to 11-for-30 (36.7%) overall and 5-for-14 (35.7%) from three in the opening period.

Fortunes reversed in the second half, as UMass shot 59.1% (13-for-22) to the Spiders' 31% (9-for-29) and 23.1% (3-for-13) from three-point range, but the deficit from the first proved too much to overcome. The Minutewomen outscored Richmond 33-25 in the second half, but could not draw any closer than 11 the rest of the way.

UMass finished the afternoon at 24-for-52 (46.2%) from the floor, 9-for-21 (42.9%) from three and 5-for-7 (71.4%) at the free throw line, while out-rebounding the Spiders, 30-26. Richmond shot 29-for-58 (50.0%), 10-for-23 (43.5%) from three and 5-for-6 (83.3%) at the charity stripe.

Leading the way for the Spiders, Brittani Shells totaled 22 points and had three steals, while Joyous Tharrington registered 13 points and a squad-best eight boards. Danielle Bell had 10 points and Rachael Bilney contributed eight points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Next on the docket for the Minutewomen will a trip to Duquesne on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.

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