Spider women beat SLU in overtime after slow start

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT/AP) - Down 20-0 in the first eight minutes of play, the Richmond women's basketball team rallied for a 75-72 overtime victory over Saint Louis Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 1,098 at the Robins Center.

With the win, Richmond improved to 15-8 overall and 7-3 in the A-10, while Saint Louis fell to 11-12 on the season and 4-6 in the league.

The Spiders struggled offensive in the first half as they went 0-for-11 in field goals, before sophomore Olivia Healy hit the first Richmond shot, a three-pointer at the 12:42 mark.

Down 10 at the half, Richmond used a 12-2 run to tie the score for the first time at the 15:35 mark. From there on, it was a back-and-forth game before the Spiders found themselves down two with 40 second to go in regulation. The Spiders shot 54.5 percent from the floor, while hitting 4-of-7 three-pointers.

Richmond hit two straight layups, while holding the Billikens to a missed free throw and a missed jumper at the buzzer to force overtime.

The Spiders outscored Saint Louis, 7-4, in the overtime period to secure the victory.

Overall, Richmond forced 26 turnovers off of 14 steals that turned into 17 points for the Spiders. After shooting 23 percent in the first half, Richmond ended the day with a 40.3 percent from the floor and went 8-for-18 from behind the arc.

Junior Lauren Tolson led the Spiders with 22 points as she went a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. Sophomore Janelle Hubbard and redshirt-senior Genevieve Okoro both followed with 15 points and three steals. Hubbard also turned in three assists.

Healy capped off the double-digit scoring with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds and four assists.

The Billikens shot over 56 percent in both regulation periods.

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