Following a decisive 66-53 victory over Rhode Island this past Sunday, the Richmond women’s basketball team is off to an undefeated start to its Atlantic 10 conference schedule.

The Lady Spiders (12-5, 3-0 A-10) have won by double digits in each of their first three conference contests, including a 26-point victory over Massachusetts, as they currently sit in second place behind No. 7 Xavier.

Pacing Richmond to its impressive mark are guards Brittani Shells and Abby Oliver, who together have combined to score half of the team’s points thus far.

Shells, a senior, leads the Lady Spiders in scoring and steals, averaging 20.7 points per game and 2.6 steals, respectively.

Oliver has also stood out in conference play, earning A-10 Player of the Week honors for her performances against the Minutewomen and Rhode Island.

The junior guard poured in 20 points against UMass in the 89-63 rout, and then followed up that effort by scoring a season-high 24 points in the win over the Rams.

Shells and Oliver will lead the Spiders as they put their undefeated conference record on the line against Duquesne and Dayton this week.

Xavier is team to beat

After suffering two difficult losses on the road to the likes of Duke and Stanford to end 2010, Xavier has returned to its winning ways in 2011 by rattling off four consecutive victories, including a 3-0 start in conference play.

The Musketeers (14-2, 3-0 A-10) kicked off 2011with a non-conference, 83-51 victory against Missouri.

Xavier further proved it was the team to beat in the conference with a close win over Dayton to start A-10 play, followed by back-to-back blowout victories against Saint Joseph’s and UMass.

Leading the way for the Musketeers are seniors Ta’Shia Phillips and Amber Harris, who are each posting double-double averages so far in their senior seasons.

Phillips leads Xavier down low, grabbing 13.2 rebounds per game while also notching 14.1 points per game. The former A-10 Player of the Year and reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Year is also the conference’s all-time leading rebounder and currently ranks second nationally in the category.

Harris, last year’s A-10 Player of the Year, leads the team in points per game at 19.3 while also registering 10.7 rebounds per game.

The Musketeers will look to continue its dominance this week as it takes on St. Bonaventure and Charlotte in conference action.

Ortega named top rookie

It was a memorable week for St. Bonaventure forward Doris Ortega. The freshman not only came off the bench to contribute to team victories, but also earned a victory for herself as she was named the A-10’s Rookie of the Week.

The Harlem, N.Y. native came off the bench last week against La Salle, contributing a career-high 12 points to help the Bonnies to a 74-54 victory.

Ortega continued her impressive bench play in a 72-48 victory over George Washington, scoring eight points and collecting four rebounds in the rout.

Ortega will look to build off of her first memorable collegiate performances this week as SBU hosts Rhode Island on Jan. 22.

Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected].