RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond head coach Alisa Kresge thought her team executed the defensive game plan for the first three quarters Friday night by making Princeton take tough shots and taking the Tigers out of their rhythm.
But the Spiders allowed a 19-2 run over the last 5 1/2 minutes, and the Tigers made their last seven field goals. During that period, Richmond’s only points came on a jump shot by senior guard Ally Sweeney, and the team missed nine shots.
“[It’s] frustrating to lose, especially when we had a lead in the fourth,” Kresge told reporters after the game. “… When you’re not making shots, it just reiterates why you have to buy into the defensive end. It’s something that we are working on as a group. But obviously, Princeton is a very good team … and unfortunately, we just didn’t find a way.”
Richmond controlled the game in the second half, leading by as many as 9 with 5:52 left to play. After the Spiders took the lead with 3:23 left in the second quarter, they held on to it until the 2:08 mark in the fourth quarter.
Princeton sealed its 65-57 win in the Opening Statement tournament with 8 straight points from senior guard/forward Fadima Tall and a free throw from senior guard Skye Belker with 11 seconds left.
Kresge, who is in her first season at Richmond, said that her team held its own until it had a couple of lapses at the end. Though her players didn’t make the shots they were taking in the final minutes, they were shots she would tell them to take again.
“We gave ourselves [a] chance, but … we have to dial in [on] the defensive side,” she said. “But we took care of the ball pretty decently. Less than 10 turnovers is always great. We outrebounded a really good, athletic offensive rebounding team. So there’s definitely things to take, but this is a group and this is a program that we’re not taking moral victories. We gotta find ways to win.”
Sweeney told reporters after the game that the Spiders gave Princeton whatever it wanted on offense in the fourth quarter.
“I think our defense just needs to get all across the board better … start to finish,” Sweeney said. “[We] can’t … choose when we play defense and when we don’t. Right? That’s not gonna win many basketball games.”
“We could blame it on being young and whatever,” Sweeney said. “But it’s on me. It’s on the other returners of this team to get it through the rest of these [freshmen’s] heads … who are playing a lotta minutes that we gotta finish games. We gotta stay locked in start to finish, 40 minutes. And I think there were times that we checked out.”
The Spiders have seven freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and one senior — Sweeney, who played all 40 minutes — on the roster. Neither junior played on Friday and the team started two freshmen and two sophomores in addition to Sweeney.
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In her second year as a starter last season, Sweeney averaged 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game and led the Atlantic 10 in assists per game.
She put up 17 points, three rebounds and two assists against Princeton, following a 22-point, four-rebound, four-assist performance against Charlotte on Monday.
Before the season started, Kresge told The IX Sports that Sweeney would have to step up in more ways than she did last year. So far this season, she’s seen Sweeney use her voice more, on top of leading by example.
“She led with a voice in small huddles, but you’re now seeing her really take on that role of being that loudest person in the room because one, she earned it, and two, she knows what she’s talking about and she’s saying the right things,” Kresge said.
Freshman forward Arisa Ihara appreciates Sweeney’s support, communication and leadership in games and practices.
“Since she [has] experienced a lot of games, college games and also the NCAA Tournament, she knows what to do,” Ihara told reporters. “So I feel like I really can trust her. She’s just a great leader … and I think she’s a great captain.”
The team played three forwards Friday night. Freshmen Ihara and Josie Fontana played 36 and 28 minutes, respectively. Sophomore Shaneka Campbell played 96 minutes last season and three against Princeton.
Sweeney knows that there are still things for the freshmen to learn and that they will always give it their all.
“They might make some mistakes on the technical end, and we’ll work with them on that and try to fix that part of it, but you know that they’re always gonna … bring the hustle for the team,” Sweeney said.
Fontana recorded 2 points, eight rebounds and three assists before fouling out against the Tigers. Ihara finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Since the summer, Sweeney has seen the freshmen grow and the team chemistry come together. She knows those things will continue to improve as the season goes on.
“I think there’s kind of more calmness,” she said. “I think there were a lotta jitters last game and even [in] scrimmages. … But they’re settling into their role very nicely. They know what we need from them.”
Ihara, a native of Germany who has played for various German and Japanese youth national teams, recorded 3 points in 22 minutes against Charlotte. Against Princeton, she was able to take advantage of a mismatch she saw, as she was playing with more confidence in her second collegiate game. She scored Richmond’s last 5 points of the second quarter to help the Spiders take a 4-point lead into halftime.
Sweeney has seen Ihara’s confidence grow since she came to Richmond. Sweeney loved what she saw from Ihara on Friday, including how she rolled hard to the basket, hit midrange shots and rebounded.
“Across the board, she’s just a solid player, and you see it coming out more as her confidence grows,” Sweeney said.
After arriving late due to circumstances outside her control, Kresge said that Ihara started eight weeks behind in learning the team’s system and terminology as well as adjusting to speaking English as her primary language. Ihara believes she’s doing better now with the physicality of American college basketball. She is getting stronger and knows she has to keep playing with confidence.
As time has passed, Kresge has seen the increased comfort, self-belief and confidence Ihara has demonstrated.
“She’s an outstanding player, so when she believes in herself, the sky’s the limit,” Kresge said. “So it’s good to see her play in those moments and be assertive with her decision. And she’s still a freshman. That’s the crazy part. I thought she didn’t play like a freshman, which is exciting for us and our future.”
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Overall, Kresge sees the players’ chemistry growing as they start to understand each other.
“They’re able to challenge each other and hold each other accountable, which always tells me a lot about a group,” she said. “And that comes with the relationship piece. But I do think we’re getting better. We just have a ways to go still.”
