The top seed held true to form. Richmond defeated Rhode Island 65-51 to capture their first A10 Tournament championship. Sunday’s game at the Henrico Sports & Events Center saw the Spiders improve to 29-5 (16-2) while Rhode Island fell to 21-14 (10-8).
Possessions: 62
Offensive efficiency: Richmond 106, Rhode Island 82
Four Factors:
| Richmond | Rhode Island | |
| eFG Pct. | 59 | 30 |
| FT Rate | 10 | 15 |
| OREB :Pct. | 22 | 43 |
| TO Rate | 20 | 9 |
Ball Control Index:
Richmond 1.46
Rhode Island 1.38
Leading scorers:
Richmond- Maggie Doogan 18 points
Rhode Island – Teisha Hyman 13 points.
Difference. For one, shooting. Spiders were 51% from the floor including 35% (8 of 23) beyond the arc. Rhode Island could not match that marksmanship, going 26% (21% from three) on the afternoon . Tammi Reiss’ Rams owned a 23-5 edge on the offensive glass. Interestingly, in a game with such a rebounding disparity, the Spiders controlled the paint 36-24.
Aaron Roussell’s Richmond club held Rhode Island scoreless for the first three plus minutes of the game. That set the tone for this one as Richmond led 14-7 following the first period, forcing the Rams to play catch up for the afternoon’s duration.
Richmond led 35-19 at intermission. They started those all important early minutes of the third period on a 9-0 run. Trailing by 19 entering the fourth, Rhode Island trimmed the lead to 15 and gained momentum. Following a timeout the Spiders answered and for all intents, were in the driver’s seat.
All-Championship Team:
Peyton Kennedy, Saint Louis- 16 points, 7 rebounds in the semifinal loss to Rhode Island
Dee Dee Davis, Rhode Island- 11 points, 8 boards in the final.
Maggie Doogan, Richmond- As noted, the Spiders’ leading scorer 18 points and leading rebounder with 7 in the final.
Grace Townsend, Richmond- 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists in the final.
Addie Budnik, Richmond- 14 points on 4 of 8 from three in the championship game
Most Outstanding player– Addie Budnick, Richmond.
“First and foremost I want to congratulate Richmond. I thought they were the best team all year, they had championship habits…We fought in the second half but I don’t think we were ready for the first twenty minutes of the ballgame and that’s where the game was won.” – Tammi Reiss
“The level of confidence that was coming from this group today was just unbelievable. It was a combination of us watching film seeing them a little bit and everything to do with how well our team moves and the synergy the group plays with….there was a point in the game that I thought I was going to lose it crying just watching them play basketball. The style of basketball those first three or four minutes was like proud parent. You’re just letting them go.” – Aaron Roussell
