March 4, 2008

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. -

GAME NOTES

#8 Richmond Spiders (13-16, 6-8 A-10)

vs.

#9 Duquesne Dukes (15-14, 6-8 A-10)

Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse • Philadelphia, Pa.

March 7, 2008 • 12 p.m. ET

Fast Breaks:
• The Spiders are the eighth seed as they head to Saint Joseph's University for the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championships. Richmond will play the first game Friday, March 7 at 12 p.m. ET against ninth seed Duquesne. The Dukes have won four-straight games to put them in a three-way tie with Richmond and St. Bonaventure at 6-8 in conference play. The winner of Friday's game will move on to face top-seed Temple Saturday, March 8 at 12 p.m. ET.
• The Spiders are the eighth seed heading into the Atlantic 10 tournament. Richmond is coming off of three straight losses. Last week, the Spiders fell to No. 15 George Washington 75-59, then fell at Charlotte, 76-66. Johanna McKnight led the Spiders in both of their games last week. The redshirt junior recorded 17 against GW and put up 22 at Charlotte. Christina Campion also played an impressive game at Charlotte, scoring 20 points for Richmond.
• Head coach Michael Shafer has led the Spiders to the Atlantic 10 Championships in the three straight years he has been at Richmond. In 2006, Shafer's first year as the Spiders' head coach, Richmond beat out La Salle in the first round at the tournament, 60-53. The Spiders then saw A-10 powerhouse George Washington in the second round where Richmond dropped to the Colonials 61-51. At last year's tournament, the Spiders' run was cut short losing in the first round to Saint Louis, 69-61. Now-junior Johanna McKnight scored 16 points in the loss to lead the Spiders in their last game of the 2006-07 season.
• Richmond fell to Duquesne earlier this season in a 76-67 decision. Three different players earned double-figures for the Spiders. Freshman Brittani Shells led the way with 19 points, Johanna McKnight added 16 and Katie Holzer put in 12 points. McKnight recorded a double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds against the Dukes. The redshirt-junior also earned five steals in the loss. Jade Singleton led the Dukes with 16 points as they earned the nine-point victory.
• Duquesne has won four straight games in A-10 play to earn the ninth seed in the tournament. The Dukes took down Massachusetts, Richmond, Rhode Island and La Salle to bring their conference record to 6-8, putting them in a three-way tie with the Spiders and St. Bonaventure. Last time out, the Dukes buried La Salle 62-35. Kristi Little and Jade Singleton both recorded 12 points against the Explorers to lead Duquesne.