SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – It would have been easy for Tarleton to quit after the first quarter they had against Richmond, but the Texans displayed their grit in Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
The first quarter went about as badly as one could imagine, with the Texans behind 25-2 after the opening frame. They kept at it though and outscored the Spiders 41-30 over the final three quarters, but dropped the contest 55-43 at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.
The Texans lost their second of the pair played at the Puerto Rico Clasico to fall to 6-5 on the year, while the Spiders set a new season-long winning streak at four games, improving to 10-3 overall.
It was to be a good battle on paper ahead of the tilt, with the Texans entering at 6-3, 14-7 (.667) against non-conference opponents over the past two seasons. Richmond had just pulled out a two-point win over Ball State the day before, and owned an NCAA WBB Net Ranking of 92.
However, Richmond completely owned the first quarter, jumping out to a 19-0 lead and finishing the frame up 25-2. The Spiders made 10-of-13 (.769) from the field in the opening 10 minutes compared to a 1-of-16 (.063) clip by Tarleton, 0-of-8 from distance.
As hot as the Spiders were in the first quarter, they were just as cold in the second quarter, making 2-of-13 (.154) from the field, 1-of-8 (.125) from deep. The Texans got their offense together in the second, outscoring the Spiders 16-7 to get back within 14 at halftime, 32-18.
Both defenses smothered the offenses in the third quarter, with just eight combined points in the first five minutes. Richmond won the quarter 11-9 to lead 43-27 headed to the fourth.
In the final frame, Tarleton used a 10-0 run from the 6:18 mark to 1:09 left to play, turning a once 23-point deficit to an eight-point game. There wasn't enough time for Tarleton to keep it rolling, as the Texans lost their second straight game.
Mayra Caicedo and
Viktoria Ivanova each led the Texans in scoring at eight points apiece, with Caicedo adding five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ivanova also had three steals.
Nyajah Mitchels tallied six points and seven rebounds.
Richmond had an incredible performance out of Addie Budnik, who poured in 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting (3-3 FG, 1-1 FT), to go with seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals. She made her first 12 shots of the night. Grace Townsend tallied four points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Spiders outshot the Texans overall 22-of-49 (.449) to 17-of-64 (.266). Tarleton only sent Richmond to the free throw line six times and won the turnover battle 26-12, but they were outrebounded 42-25 and shot just 2-of-18 (.111) from the three-point line. The Texans had 18 fast break points to Richmond's two.
Tarleton now has eight days in-between games as they celebrate the Christmas season. The Texans will be back home at Wisdom Gym to start conference play for their next game, set for Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. CT against their I-20 rival Abilene Christian.
