March 7, 2008

First Round Quotes

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- 2008 A-10 Women's Basketball Championship - First Round - March 7

(8) Richmond 58 (9) Duquesne 56

Freshman Brittani Shells scored a team-high 19 points as eighth-seeded Richmond edged Duquesne, 58-56, in the first game of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship.

After Richmond (14-16) opened up a 25-21 halftime lead to as much as 10 points deep into the second half, a late scoring surge from Duquesne (15-15) whittled the advantage down to three with just under a minute to go.

With 51 seconds to play, Duquesne junior Kristi Little knocked down her only three-pointer of the contest, tying the game, 56-56. The Spiders were quick to answer after Shells broke free and buried an open jumper with 30 seconds to play, giving Richmond the a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Richmond freshman Crystal Goring notched her third double-double of the season, scoring 16 points on six-of-13 shooting from the field, along with 12 rebounds. Shells accompanied her team-high 19 points with eight rebounds, which tied her career-high.

Duquesne was led by senior Jocelyn Chandler, who poured in 18 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the line. Freshman Samantha Pollino finished 7-for-10 from the field, chipped in 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in the loss.

The Spiders' win avenges a late-season home loss to Duquesne, 76-67, and secures a spot in the quarterfinals, where they will take on top-seeded Temple.

(5) Dayton 57 (12) Massachusetts 51

A career night for Massachusetts senior Kate Mills was not enough to overcome fifth-seeded Dayton in the opening round of the A-10 Women's Basketball Championships. Led by senior Nikki Oakland's 20 points and 13 rebounds, the Flyers battled for the hard-fought victory, 57-51.

The lead changed hands several times in the first half and ended with Dayton (24-7) clinging to a slim one-point lead over UMass (13-17), 27-26.

The Flyers stormed out to a big lead in second half, which was as much as nine with 10:10 to play. UMass countered with several scoring runs, but Dayton was quick to quell any momentum that would jeopardize the lead.

Dayton's Oakland was dominating en route to capturing her tenth double-double of the season, finishing 7-for-14 from the field and five-for-six from the line. Aided by senior teammate Brittany Holterman, who scored 10 points and recorded eight boards, the pair accounted for over half of the Flyer offense.

Mills finished with 17 points on 8-for-18 shooting. Her career-high 19 rebounds for the game are tied for the third-most in A-10 Championship history. It also marked the seventh time this season that she recorded a double-double.

With the win, the Flyers advance to the quarterfinals for a match against fourth-seeded Charlotte.

(10) Rhode Island 61 (7) St. Bonaventure 49

With three players reaching double digits, tenth-seeded Rhode Island's balanced scoring attack upset seventh-seeded St. Bonaventure, 61-49.

Rhode Island (13-17) took control in the early going and never looked back. Four players scored at least five points in the first half and the Rams closed out the half with a six-point lead, 30-24.

Despite St. Bonaventure's (18-12) 10-0 run that cut the lead to 40-38 with 8:20 left, Rhode Island held on to its lead thanks to solid performances from juniors Amanda McGrew, Crystal Bellinger, Sierra Cooper and senior Safi Mojidi. The Rams also received major production off the bench with 18 points, 11 of which were accounted for by Cooper.

Leading SBU was senior Dana Mitchell (15) and junior Katelyn Murray (20), whose 13-for-24 combined shooting resulted in 35 points in the loss.

With the win, Rhode Island advances to the quarterfinals for a meeting with second-seeded George Washington.

(6) Saint Joseph's 71 (11) Saint Louis 58

Saint Joseph's junior Jenna Loschiavo scored a team-high 16 points on the way to a 71-58 victory over Saint Louis in the final game of the first round of the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship.

Saint Joseph's (17-13) capitalized on early Saint Louis (10-20) turnovers, scoring 10 of its first half points off eight Billiken miscues. Hawks' senior Tamish Gomez provided the early spark, hitting four-of-seven first half shots for nine points.

Turnovers were an issue in the second half as well, however this time it was the Billikens' defense pressuring Saint Joseph's into mistakes. With 13 turnovers leading to 14 Saint Louis points in the second half, the Billikens cut away an 11 point lead with 9:47 remaining, 45-41.

Any hopes for a comeback were quickly dashed after Gomez and teammates Sarah Acker, Brittany Ford, and Loschiavo took over during a dominating 16-2 Hawks' run. Acker finished with 12 points and 12 boards, while Ford and Gomez scored 13 and 15, respectively.

In the win, the Hawks shot an impressive 30-for-54 (.556) from the field and hit 6-of-13 (.462) from beyond the arc.

Leading the way for Saint Louis was sophomore Katie Paganelli, who shot 6-for-12 from the floor, scoring 13 points in the loss.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advance to the quarterfinals to play third-seeded Xavier at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of Saint Joseph's University.

Quarterfinal action begins at noon on Saturday.