Richmond edges JMU in WNIT

Richmond triumphs on late shot by Shells FG with 2 seconds left caps her 19-point day in win over JMU

Brittani Shells had played the scene in her head a million times.

Game's on the line.

She takes the inbounds pass, then squares up near the top of the key against the girl assigned to stop her.

The hopes and dreams of her coaches, her teammates, and University of Richmond women's basketball faithful are riding on her skill and cunning.

Quickly, she dribbles left as if to penetrate into the paint and draw the foul.

Then, as the defender takes the bait, she pulls up, sets her feet, and in one fluid motion launches an arching jumper.

Basket good! Nothing but net!Spiders win! Spiders win!

Yesterday afternoon at the Robins Center, that vision became reality.

With 2 seconds left, the 5-7 sophomore stroked the game-clincher from a step inside the arc, just to the right of the key, and above the outstretched hand of 6-1 Nina Uqdah to give UR a 59-57 victory over James Madison in the second round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament.

"I'm sure every player has that fantasy because you see it in movies all the time," said Shells, who finished with 19 points, 13 after the break.

"Every time I practice by myself, it's always a pull-up.

"I guess she probably thought I'd try to take it to the basket."

The game between two squads that had hopes of earning NCAA bids was fiercely contested from tipoff to the final horn.

The Spiders, who had not played since falling to Charlotte in the Atlantic 10 tournament finals 13 days ago, led 30-27 after the first half and never trailed in the second.

"Our girls understand what it takes to play at this level," said UR coach Michael Shafer.

"They want to keep playing. They truly want to compete."

Each time the Spiders seemed to gain momentum after intermission, the Dukes had an answer, and two treys each by Dawn Evans and Sarah Williams enabled them to stay close.

After a flurry of frenetic action punctuated by several timeouts in the waning minutes, Jalissa Taylor sank two free throws at 0:23.8 to forge a tie at 57.

The Spiders then brought the ball upcourt, called time at 0:15.7, and, in their huddle, put the finishing touches on the storybook script.

"Not playing since March 9 is tough," said Shafer. "This gets the rust off. This gets us in a rhythm."

Johanna McKnight, a 5-9 guard who finished with 13 points, said, "I'm excited we're back in the postseason. No basketball player wants to stop when your time is up. Especially me. I'm a senior. I don't want to stop playing because after school, you have to face the real world."

JAMES MADISON (24-10)

Stokes 0, Uqdah 8, Williams 14, Evans 19, Taylor 10, Hamner 2, Francisco 2, Connely 2. Totals: 17 16-20 57
RICHMOND (24-9)

Shells 19, McKnight 13, Thomas 2, Bell 5, Zygaite 3, Oliver 13, Bilney 3, Kretchman 0, Goring 1. Totals: 20 15-22 59

Halftime - Richmond 30-27

3-point goals: James Madison: Evans 4, Williams 3. Richmond: Shells, McKnight, Oliver, Bilney. A: 584