Dec. 2, 2008

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The women's basketball team hosts the cross-town rival VCU Rams tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the Robins Center. Richmond returns home after playing five games on the road. The Spiders are coming off an impressive Thanksgiving break, where they won the Double Tree Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Richmond defeated Troy 53-48 in the first round of play, and then thumped host Tennessee-Chattanooga 64-46, in the championship game. Senior Johanna McKnight, junior Danielle Bell and sophomore Brittani Shells were all named to the All-Tournament team, with Shells earning MVP honors.

The 6-0 Spiders are off to their best start since the 2004-05 season. Sophomore Brittani Shells leads the Spiders in scoring at 15.8 ppg. Richmond is currently averaging 13.8 assists per game, and outrebounding opponents by a 2.3 margin.

Richmond lost last year's match-up, 60-51 at the Siegel Center. Krystal Vaughn led the Rams in scoring with 22 points. VCU looks to improve to 5-1.

"VCU is an excellent basketball team," said head coach Michael Shafer. "They are playing very well together and have four or five different scoring options, which will be difficult to prepare for."

VCU is coming off a 67-53 win over the Albany Great Danes. Sophomore Jessica Taylor scored a career-high 11 points. VCU has wins over Liberty, Tulane and East Carolina.
"They are well coached and play great team defense," said Shafer. "I anticipate a very hard fought basketball game."

Fans can follow game tracker and tune into SpiderTV for a live broadcast of the game.