Women’s basketball unable to fend off George Washington

The University of Richmond women’s basketball team lost 65-63 at home against George Washington University on Dec. 31 to begin Atlantic 10 conference play. 

UR started the game shooting 62.5% from the field, making three out of its five attempted 3-pointers. The Spiders also went on a 7-0 scoring run toward the end of the first quarter, which gave the team a 24-19 lead with one quarter in the books. 

However, from the end of the first quarter onward, George Washington stuck around and made it a back-and-forth game between the Spiders and the Colonials. During the game, the lead changed 12 times and the score was tied seven times. 

While the Spiders shot well from the field in the first quarter, the team’s strong shooting percentage did not carry over into the second quarter; the team went from over 60% shooting in the first to 26.67% shooting in the second. 

UR led the Colonials by seven points with 4:37 left in the first half, but George Washington kept the game close, holding the Spiders to one basket for the rest of the first half.

At halftime, UR led George Washington 32-31. 

In the third quarter, the Spiders shot at a better clip — over 50% from the field. This allowed the team to stay in the game after George Washington took its first lead since the first quarter. 

The Spiders pulled ahead after three quarters and led 48-45 heading into the fourth quarter. 

But, UR eventually lost its edge and the Colonials pulled ahead by six points with 1:31 left in regulation. 

The Spiders had a chance to tie the game or take the lead as UR took possession of the ball with ten seconds to go after a Colonial turnover. 

But, in the end, junior forward Addie Budnik missed a jump shot, and even though sophomore guard Katie Hill grabbed a rebound and heaved up another shot, it fell short as well, resulting in a UR loss. 

“I was really proud of the way our kids battled back and found a way to get the ball in our hands to win the game,” UR head coach Aaron Roussell said in a postgame press conference.

On the day, Budnik and junior guard Grace Townsend each chipped in 14 points. Sophomore guard Sydney Boone scored a season-high 10 points off the bench. 

“I thought they [George Washington] came out with a lot of energy and I thought we matched that,” Roussell said. “Some of the physicality maybe bothered us today. I think we’ve been pretty good on the boards coming into this.” 

The Colonials out-rebounded the Spiders 38-29 in the game. 

This loss ends the Spiders’ four-game winning streak and puts the team at 10-4 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. After a strong performance from the team throughout its non-conference schedule, UR’s efforts were not enough in the first game of conference play. 

“Obviously you start conference play right now in a really tough matchup and I think they’re all gonna be,” Roussell said. “I just think there’s a lot of balance in our league right now, so there are gonna be a lot of close games.” 

UR’s next game is on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. at Loyola University Chicago. 

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.