Spider Sports Recap | Week of Nov. 6

Women’s Basketball 

Nov. 6: Loss 83-53 at Duke University 

The Spiders started their season with a 30-point loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University. Facing a tough opponent in the Blue Devils, who are an Atlantic Coast Conference school, the Spiders could not overcome Duke’s offensive output. Heading into halftime, UR was only down by 14 points, but the Spiders found themselves down by as many as 32 points in the final quarter of regulation and ultimately lost the first game of the new campaign. Senior forward Addie Budnik and sophomore guard Rachel Ullstrom led the Spiders’ offense, each scoring in double figures. 

Nov. 12: Win 105-44 vs. Delaware State University 

After a tough loss in their season opener, the Spiders bounced back with a dominant victory over Delaware State, defeating the Hornets by 61 points. Everything seemed to be falling for UR as the team shot just over 60% from field goal range on the game and 53.8% from the 3-point range, making 14 3-pointers. The Spiders held the Hornets to just 18 points in the first half, while UR scored 57 points. Throughout the game, Delaware State shot only 32.6% from the field and 28.6% from 3-point range. Six Spiders scored in double figures, showing the team’s depth early on in the season. Senior Siobhan Ryan scored 15 points, sophomore forward Maggie Doogan scored 14 points, graduate guard Laren VanArsdale scored 13 points, senior guard Grace Townsend scored 11 points and Budnik and Ullstrom each chipped in 10 points. UR’s next game is away against Gardner-Webb University at 11 a.m. Nov. 15. 

Men’s Basketball 

Nov. 6: Win 93-75 vs. the Virginia Military Institute 

Despite the Keydets starting off on a 5-0 run, the Spiders got the job done to start off the regular season with a win. After those first 5 points by VMI, the Spiders held the lead for the rest of the game. By the end of the first half, UR led VMI by 19 points. And in the second half, the Spiders did not take their feet off the pedal. With a little under nine and half minutes to go in the game, UR led by as many as 31 points, giving the Spiders the chance to clear their bench and get every player on the roster playing time. The Spiders finished the game ahead by 18, beating VMI in the first game of the season for the second straight year in a row. Graduate guard Jordan King, who transferred to UR this season from East Tennessee State University, led the way with 34 points in his debut at the Robins Center. Fellow transfer, graduate guard DeLonnie Hunt, was the Spiders’ other scorer in double figures, chipping in 15 points. 

Nov. 11: Win 90-48 vs. Siena College 

Coming off a season opener victory, the Spiders finished out their two-game home stand to start the year with a 42-point victory over the Saints. With 7:36 to go in the first half, the Spiders were ahead by 10 points. What ensued was an 8-0 run that put UR up by 18. By the time halftime rolled around, the Spiders were up by 21 points, already putting their stamp on the score with 20 minutes of regulation still left to go. UR would increase its lead over Siena to as many as 44 points with 1:26 to go in the game, ultimately finishing ahead of the Saints by 42. This was the Spiders’ second-straight game scoring 90 or more points. The Saints had 22 turnovers in the game compared to UR’s 8. Graduate forward Zae Bigelow led the way offensively with 17 points. Other solid offensive performances included senior guard Dji Bailey’s 14 points off the bench, Hunt’s 11 points and King’s 10 points. Once again, the Spiders were able to empty their bench, getting roster members playing time. UR’s next game is away against Boston College at 7 p.m. Nov. 15. 

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country 

Nov. 10: NCAA Southeast Region Championships 

The men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina for the NCAA Southeast Region Championships. In the 10k race, senior Jordan Bendura led the way for the men’s team as the team’s first finisher. Bendura finished in 64th place with a 30:29.5 time. UR’s next finisher in the 10k was sophomore Henry Haase, who came in 89th place with a 31:08.5 time. The only other Spider to finish in the top-100 was senior Stuart Terrill, who was the 100th finisher with a 31:18.3 time. Out of 40 schools competing, seven of which were listed as not finishing the race, UR finished in 21st place. On the women’s side, senior Elizabeth Stockman paced the Spiders with a 46th place finish in the 6k race. Stockman ran a 20:57.6. Next to finish for the Spiders was senior Madison Trippett, who came in 50th with a time not so far behind Stockman’s, 20:58.5. Stockman and Trippett were the only two who finished in the top-100 for UR. Overall, the women’s team placed 18th out of 41 schools competing. Seven schools were listed as not finishing on the women’s side. 

Football 

Nov. 11: Win 38-24 vs. Elon University 

The Spiders notched their fifth win in a row, taking down the Phoenix by 14 points in the team’s second to last game of the season and bringing UR’s record to 7-3 on the year. The first quarter ended in a tie, and the Spiders did have one interception that ended up in the hands of Elon’s defense in quarter two. But by the halfway mark of the game, the Spiders carried a 28-7 lead into the locker room. UR did not put points on the board in the third quarter, but the defense was able to limit Elon’s offensive output to one score for the quarter, keeping the Spiders’ lead still at two scores. The Spiders scored 10 points off a touchdown and a field goal in the fourth quarter, and despite allowing Elon to score 10 points of its own, the Spiders remained in front and were able to emerge victorious 38-24. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kyle Wickersham was a force to be reckoned with through the air and on the ground, as he not only threw for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns, but led the Spiders’ rushing attack as well, going for 130 yards in 13 attempts. On one attempt, Wickersham ran for 52 yards, which put the Spiders in position to execute their fifth touchdown of the day. Also on the rushing attack, redshirt senior running back Savon Smith had 2 touchdowns and 70 yards throughout the game. Smith also had a receiving touchdown, putting him at 3 for the game. Defensively, redshirt senior linebacker Tristan Wheeler had 11 tackles and redshirt junior defensive lineman Zander Barnett picked up 2 sacks. UR’s next game is away against the College of William & Mary at 1 p.m. Nov. 18. 

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