With the Atlantic 10 regular season title on the line, Xavier came up big to defeat Temple, 73-66, on Sunday.
Forward Amber Harris led the way for the No. 6 -ranked Musketeers (25-2, 14-0 A-10) with 26 points and 12 boards, while fellow forward Ta’Shia Phillips added 18 points and 15 rebounds of her own.
The game swung wildly back-and-forth, as both teams held double-digit leads at different points in the contest. However, Xavier took control late, leading in the second half. Temple hung tough but couldn’t make up the difference in the end.
Lockdown defense on the part of the Musketeers was the key. With 10 minutes, 48 seconds remaining in the second half, Xavier clung to a 52-51 lead. However, the Musketeers forced the Owls to miss their next eight-straight attempts and opened a 12-point lead they would hang on to the rest of the way.
With the win, Xavier clinched the No. 1 seed in the A-10 tournament, while Temple was locked into the No. 2 slot.
Dukes run roughshod over URI
Duquesne defeated Rhode Island, 88-49, in dominating fashion on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Dukes (22-7, 9-5 A-10) clinched their all-time best regular season record.
A 16-3 run early in the first half staked Duquesne to a lead they’d never relinquish. Two 3-pointers from Megan Shoniker managed to bring URI (7-21, 1-113 A-10) within six with eight minutes to go in the first half, but the team could not sustain the effort. At its peak, the margin between the teams swelled to 43 points, the largest of the season for the Dukes. Duquesne also racked up a season-high in blocks with 11 and a season-low with 10 turnovers.
Five players scored in double-figures for the Dukes on the day. Wumi Agunbiade was the high scorer with 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting off the bench. She cleaned the glass to the tune of eight rebounds to co-lead the team as well.
Shells sets mark for Spiders
It was a record-breaking night at the Robins Center on Saturday, as senior guard Brittani Shells became only the second player in Richmond history to amass over 2,000 points in her collegiate career.
In the Spiders’ 68-57 victory over Saint Louis, Karen Elnser, the all-time record holder with 2,367 points scored, was in attendance.
Shells scored 17 points in total on the night and also had two steals to pass Jackie Israel for the program’s all-time record in that category as well.
Genevieve Okoro was also a major contributor for Richmond, scoring 16 points, including 12-for-13 shooting from the free throw line and grabbing 10 rebounds as well. Guard Abby Oliver also played well with a team-leading 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting and eight rebounds.
Ben Lambert can be reached at [email protected].
