Spiders Shake up Quakers in WNIT First Round Victory

Spiders Shake up Quakers in WNIT First Round Victory | https://richmondspiders.com/

By Northern Neck Times Reports

Mar 19, 2023

Spiders Shake up Quakers in WNIT First Round Victory

Behind 12 three pointers from the team and a double-double from freshman Maggie Doogan, the University of Richmond Women's Basketball team picked up a dominating first round win in the Women's National Invitational Tournament Thursday evening inside the Robins Center, 75-52, over Penn. With the win, the Spiders advance to the WNIT second round for the first time since 2015, and will face the winner of Rhode Island/Boston, slated for Friday at 6 p.m., with an improved record of 21-10. The Quakers end their season at 17-12.

Doogan, with her third double-double of the season, posted 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Spiders were led by junior Addie Budnik, who recorded a team-high 23 points along with three rebounds, an assist and two blocks. Freshman Rachel Ullstrom and sophomore Katie Hill chipped in nine points each in the contest as junior Grace Townsend recorded two thefts and a team-high five assists.

As a team, Richmond shot 28 of 73 (38.4%) from the field, 12 of 33 (36.4%) from deep and 7 of 9 (77.8) from the line. In addition, the Spiders also matched a game-high 49 rebounds, 18 assists, five blocks and four steals. The Spider bench chipped in 13 points while the team also recorded 16 points off 11 Quaker turnovers.

"I think at the Atlantic 10 Championship, we started flat in all three games, and we were able to climb our way back, but tonight we were fired up from the start," Budnik said. "I think it started with Jada Green out in the tunnel pregame, she really got us fired up and we came out with a lot of energy. We knew we needed to throw the first punch and be the aggressors. We talked about being aggressive throughout this past week, making sure that we got key calls and were dictating the pace during the game, and I think that we did that really well tonight."

The Spiders got things rolling with a dominating 11-0 run to start the game from efforts by Budnik, Doogan and Townsend. After three buckets from the Quakers, junior Siobhan Ryan got the Spiders back on track with a trey for a 14-6 lead with 4:01 left in the quarter. After Penn scratched back to 16-8, back-to-back buckets from Budnik gave the Spiders a 13-point advantage, 21-8. The Quakers got one last trey off as time expired to cut the deficit to 21-11 at the break.

Penn began the second quarter with a trey, but Ullstrom followed the play with a three pointer of her own to preserve the lead at 24-14 with 8:37 left in the half. The Spiders then went on a 7-0 run sparked by Budnik to push the Spider lead to 30-16. Later, Budnik gave the Spiders an 18-point lead, 35-17, but the Quakers stayed persistent, going on a 5-0 run to scratch back to 35-22 with 1:40 left on the clock. Budnik and Doogan combined for five points for a 40-22 lead as Penn got one final jumper off to send the Spiders into the locker room leading 40-24.

Through 20 minutes, the Spiders were paced by Budnik, who posted a staggering 18 points, while Doogan put up seven and Ullstrom chipped in six. Hill led the way with five boards while Townsend had three assists and Budnik had two blocks. As a team, the Spiders shot 13 of 34 from the field (38.2%), 7 of 16 (43.8%) from deep and 7 of 9 (77.8%) from the line. In addition, the team posted 21 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks, two thefts and 10 points off eight Quaker turnovers.

Richmond opened the third quarter with a 4-0 run for a 44-24 lead. Hill pushed the lead to 23 with a trey and followed her shot with another layup later in the quarter for a 51-26 lead with 6:21 left in the game. Budnik and Hill then combined for six points as Doogan also chimed in on the offensive, lifting the Spiders to a 29-point lead, 59-30 with 1:34 left in the third. The Quakers ended the quarter with an 8-0 run for a 59-38 deficit going into the fourth.

The Spiders again came out firing in the fourth, posting an 11-2 run for a 29-point lead, 70-41 with 6:06 left in the game. After a few points from the opposition, Doogan recorded a trey to preserve the lead at 73-45. Sophomore Sydney Boone recorded the last couple of points for the Spiders off a wide-open layup, as Penn got two final buckets off late into the quarter, giving the Spiders the 75-52 win.