The Richmond Spiders had three of their starters combine for 52 points on Friday evening, including a game-high 27 from Maggie Doogan pulling away from Maine for a 77-43 women’s basketball win in the first day of the Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic at the Knapp Center on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
The first half was very competitive, as there were seven lead changes. Maine took their first lead after trailing by as many as eight in the first quarter on back to back three-pointers by Anne Simon and Adrianna Smith at 16-15 to cap off a 9-0 run. Richmond (4-1) took the lead for good on a Doogan layup with 7:54 left in the second quarter. They used an 11-2 spurt to take an 11 point advantage, and led 38-30 at the halftime break. The Spiders really started putting it away in the third period, and the Black Bears would go cold from the field. Richmond scored the first 11 points to extend their lead to 19, and Maine would never get closer than 14 after that as they were outscored 39-13 in the second half.
Smith was the only Maine player to score in double figures, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds as the Black Bears record falls to 3-2. They only shot 26% from the floor, and 5-25 (20%) from the three-point arc. Doogan added seven rebounds, two blocks, and a steal to her point total in the victory for Richmond out of the Atlantic 10. Addie Budnik had 13 points, and Grace Townsend chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. The Spiders shot the ball at 48%, and hit 20-29 from the foul line. Maine was looking for a clean sweep over A10 opponents, as they had won their previous three over LaSalle, UMass, and preseason favorite URI. The Black Bears play again Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on day two against Louisiana Tech.
Recap by Chris Lessner
