Spider Sports Recap | Week of November 15-21

Men’s Basketball

Nov. 16: Win 94-78 vs. Georgia State 

The University of Richmond men’s basketball team beat Georgia State University with a score of 94-78. Junior forward Tyler Burton led the way for the Spiders with 20 points. Richmond’s bench posted 45 points, its most versus a Division I opponent in the last seven seasons. The Spiders shot 16-29 from three-point range, tying the Robins Center team record for three-pointers in a game. Graduate student guard Nick Sherod finished with 16 points, while senior forward Matt Grace added 14. Graduate student forward Grant Golden scored 15 points and had five rebounds and four assists. Graduate student forward Nathan Cayo registered a career-best six assists, tied with graduate student guard Jacob Gilyard for the most on the team. The Spiders shot 61% from the floor, their best shooting percentage over the last two seasons. 

Nov. 20: Loss 70-73 vs. Drake

The men’s basketball team fell to Drake 70-73. Burton finished the game with a career-high 30 points, the most by any Spider since Golden scored 33 against Wyoming in 2018. Golden added 17 points this game -- in addition to six rebounds and five assists -- and crossed the 1,800-career-points mark while at UR. Gilyard finished with six points, five assists and four steals. Gilyard increased his career steals total to 375, passing VCU’s Brianté Weber for the third-most steals in Division I history. 

Women’s Basketball 

Nov. 18: Loss 50-71 vs. Elon University 

The women’s basketball team fell to Elon 50-71. Sophomore forward Addie Budnik posted a career-high seven blocks and scored all nine of Richmond’s points in the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Grace Townsend scored 13 points, one point shy of tying a career-high. Townsend also had six rebounds and a pair of steals. Senior guard Kate Klimkiewicz scored eight points, breaking her nine-game double-digit scoring streak. Richmond shot 35.1% from the field, including going 4-20 from beyond the arc. 

Nov. 21: Win 76-64 UMBC 

The women’s basketball team beat University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a score of 76-64, improving this year's record to 2-2. Budnik and sophomore guard Siobhan Ryan each put up 20 or more points. The Spiders set a program record for blocks in a single game. The team shot 49.1% from the field, including 15 three-pointers. The Spiders also had season-high assists in the game. Budnik tied her career-high seven blocks and currently leads the NCAA at the Division I level in blocks per game. Budkin also led the Spiders with seven rebounds. 

Women’s Swimming and Diving 

Nov. 18: Patriot Invite

The swimming and diving team closed out the Patriot Invite in sixth place overall with a three-day score of 305.50. Freshman Abby Fuller placed third overall in the 50-yard freestyle with a season-best time of 23.28. Senior Emma Yeakley finished eighth overall in the 1-meter diving finals with a score of 212.90, and she finished seventh in the 3-meter dive with a score of 2:14.75. In the 800-yard freestyle relay, Richmond placed sixth overall with a time of 7:41.70 from the team of sophomore Alexa Connors, senior Grace Palfreyman, sophomore Megan Carson and junior Claire O’Shaughnessy. Senior Maggie Purcell finished in fifth place overall in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:26.39  Connors led the way with a third place showing in the 1650-yard freestyle, posting a time of 17:16.58. Sophomore Katelyn Pennell added a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke, posting a time of 2:03.76. In the 200-yard breaststroke, Purcell placed eighth overall in a time of 2:21.40, followed by teammate junior Sara Greene with a 12th place finish overall. In the 200-yard butterfly, O’Shaughnessy came in 12th. The 400-yard freestyle relay added a sixth place finish in a time of 3:29.33. 

Football 

Nov. 20: Win 20-17 vs. William & Mary University 

The Spiders defeated rival College of William & Mary 20-17 in The Capital Cup to take over the all-time series lead, holding a 64-63-5 all-time record. The four-straight-game winning streak gives them a winning record on the season at 6-5 in conference and 4-4 in Colonial Athletic Association play. The Spiders’ four-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak in the CAA, behind James Madison’s six straight wins. Senior linebacker Tyler Dressler was named the Most Valuable Player of The Capital Cup. Dressler posted 11 tackles and forced a pair of turnovers. Dressler finished the year second on the team with a total of 92 tackles. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Tristan Wheeler added a game-high 14 tackles. Wheeler finishes the season leading the team with 114 tackles, leading the CAA in regular-season tackles. Redshirt junior running back Aaron Dykes led the way with a team high of 80 yards rushing on 13 carries, including a rushing touchdown. Redshirt sophomore running back Savon Smith added 45 yards on eight carries in the first half. Graduate student quarterback Joe Mancuso finished the game 13-26 on complete passes for 188 yards. 

Contact sports writer Kayla O’Connell at kayla.oconnell@richmond.edu.