Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Thursday, December 23, 2004

Why is Richmond not ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation?

The Spiders are coached by Joanne Boyle, the former Duke player who spent nine years as an assistant coach for the Blue Devils. In 2002-2003, her first year at Richmond, she led the Spiders to a record of 21-11 and a berth in the WNIT quarterfinals. In 2003-2004, the Spiders finished 23-10, losing in the semifinals of the postseason WNIT.

This year, Richmond is 8-0 and has defeated Virginia (in Charlottesville), Florida (in Gainesville), Southwest Missouri State, plus Liberty, the perennial Big South champion. And Richmond is 6th in the latest RPI rankings.

Next year, Coach Boyle brings in her biggest recruit yet...6-3 post player, Crystal Goring, who is rated the 6th best recruit in the country by Blue Star and the 8th best recruit according to All Game Sports.

Back to this year...Richmond deserves to be ranked among the nation's top 25 (or 20) teams. Fear the Spiders!