The University of Richmond women’s basketball team defeated Fordham University 70-65 at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, DE March 3.
After a victory in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament against the University of Dayton on March 2, the Spiders fought back in the second half to win their fourth straight game.
With this win against Fordham, UR advanced to the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament.
The game started off slowly for the Spiders as the team trailed 19-6 after the first quarter. First-year forward Maggie Doogan scored the team’s first five points, putting the Spiders up 5-1 at the 7:09 mark of the first quarter. However, a Rams 18-0 run followed, leaving the Spiders down 13 heading into the second quarter.
After shooting 16.67% from the arc and 12.50% from the field in the first quarter, quarter two saw the Spiders’ shooting percentages increase. UR hit 4 of 7 3-pointers and shot 69.23% from the field.
“These past two days have been a lot of grit, and I mean, you can’t live and die by the threes,” junior forward Addie Budnik said in the postgame press conference. “So, we’re finding other ways to score, which is huge for us.”
With 2:34 to go in the first half, the Rams held a 12-point lead, but UR went on a 7-0 run and cut the deficit to five points as halftime approached.
In the third quarter, the Spiders took their first lead of the game since the first quarter. After a fastbreak layup at the buzzer from junior guard Grace Townsend, the score was tied heading into the final quarter of regulation.
The Spiders jumped out to a 58-51 lead to start the fourth quarter and stayed ahead of the Rams for the entire quarter. With eight seconds to go, the Rams cut the deficit to three, 66-63, but Doogan and Budnik each hit two free throws to emerge victorious 70-65.
“I don’t know a way that I could be prouder of this group right now,” UR head coach Aaron Rousell said after the game. “And obviously the box score tells a story, but we’ve been on a journey for a long time.”
On the day, Doogan was UR’s leading scorer with 20 points. Budnik was not far behind with 18 points. Sophomore guard Katie Hill led the fight on the boards with 12 rebounds.
“I mean, [Doogan’s] a beast,” Budnik said. “[Doogan] has so much confidence and I think that’s contagious, honestly. So, coming in as a freshman and being able to just hold herself to that standard in everything, it’s really helped us and pushed us to where we are right now.”
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UR’s next game is against the top-seeded University of Massachusetts minutewomen at 11 a.m. March 4.
Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.
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