Women’s basketball defeated George Mason in a must-win game

The University of Richmond women’s basketball team beat George Mason University 73-58 in a must-win game for the Spiders in the Robins Center on Jan. 21. 

The Spiders scored efficiently on the court, shooting 60% on the night. The Patriots in comparison only shot 20% from the field. The Spiders moved quickly and were accurate with their shots giving them a 20-8 lead going into the second quarter. 

UR continued their scoring form and scored 72.7% of their field goals in the first half. First-year forward Maggie Doogan shone during the game. Doogan had a double-double, scored 18 points and gathered 12 rebounds during the game. The half ended with UR leading 42-21. 

In a back-and-forth last quarter, UR held on to beat George Mason. The Spiders scored 12 points to the Patriot’s 11. The brief scare was over and UR emerged victorious, winning 73-58. 

Other top performers of the game were junior forward Addie Budnik, who scored 14 points, and junior guard Siobhan Ryan, who scored 13 points. 

“The hustle was there today and the physicality was a lot better today,” Roussell said. 

He praised the team’s hard work and effort to battle for a win while they were in a rut. 

“All their 3-point shots were going in and the timer was ticking down,” Roussell said. “All the things that lead to a comeback was happening for [George Mason] and our kids answered.” 

Roussell appreciated the team's ability to stop George Mason from overtaking them in points. For each point the Patriots scored, UR scored. 

“This was a must-win game,” Roussell said. “You’re chasing a lot of teams and you start running out of games. You can’t keep dropping home games. This start was a lesson for us and if it translates to winning some tough games in the future, then hopefully we can say it was positive at the end.” 

After the win, the women’s basketball team is 2-3 in their conference. Roussell said that it would be extremely difficult to finish near the top of the league if they had a 1-4 record, so the win today was crucial. 

The next UR women’s basketball game is at Fordham University at 7 p.m. Jan. 26. 

Contact sports writer Ryan Stacy at ryan.stacy@richmond.edu.