Women’s basketball team defeats William and Mary 90-52

The University of Richmond women’s basketball team defeated the College of William & Mary Tribe on the Spider’s homecourt at the E. Claiborne Robins Center Sunday night with a score of 90-52.

Richmond’s sophomore forward Addie Budnik started the Spiders off with a jump shot, but the Tribe responded with a quick layup. After a strong game of defense from both sides, freshman forward Cayla Williams shot a jumper and was fouled. Following a free throw from Williams and a layup from senior guard Kate Klimkiewicz, they added five points to the scoreboard. 

With 4:25 left in the first quarter, Williams rebounded a missed three-pointer with a quick layup and sophomore guard Grace Townsend followed with a jumper. Senior forward Emma Squires wrapped up the quarter with a jump shot putting Richmond in the lead 13-4. 

William & Mary began the second quarter with a fastbreak and a layup. Richmond’s sophomore guard Siobhan Ryan and Budnik were both fouled within seconds of one another, and both went two-for-two with their free throws. 

With 6:08 left in the second quarter, Townsend scored the Spiders’ first three of the game and Klimkiewicz and Williams quickly responded with threes of their own, bringing the score to 26-8. Budnik and Townsend added another four points with a jump shot and a layup. Klimkiewicz followed up with her second three-pointer of the game. 

With 2:23 on the clock, Squires scored her first three of the game giving the Spiders a 13-point lead over the Tribe, Richmond leading 36-18. 

Richmond scored almost a third of all their points against W&M in the third quarter. Klimkiewicz started the Spiders off strong with a jump shot in the paint, and Ryan followed with a three-pointer. After a rebound by Townsend, Klimkiewicz scored another jumpshot, leading Richmond to a 43-18 lead. 

At the seven minute mark of the third quarter, with an assist from Townsend, Ryan shot her first three-pointer of the game. After a timeout and substitution of players, the Spiders came back strong with Budnik scoring a layup and Klimkiewicz with a jumper leaving the Spiders with a 30-point lead. 

W&M had a short six-point rally against Richmond, which was quickly ended by back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore guard Kylee Lewandowski. 

With two minutes left in the quarter, Ryan scored a jump shot that was followed by Squires with another three. Budnik wrapped up the third quarter by going two-for-two with free throws, puttingRichmond in the lead 63-32. 

In the final quarter, both Richmond and W&M showed a strong offense. Richmond scored another 27 points and W&M scored 20. 

Squires began the fourth quarter with a layup and senior guard Claire Holt followed with a jump shot. Holt followed that jump shot with a layup in the paint. 

Townsend, at the 7:42 mark, shot her second three-pointer of the game, and Budnik followed with her first-three pointer as well. William & Mary began another rally, scoring seven points against the Spiders, but Williams quickly shut it down with her second three-pointer. Holt, with a rebound by Williams, scored another layup after a fastbreak, bringing the score to 80-44. 

With 3:50 left, junior guard Angel Burgos was fouled and went two-for-two with her free throws. Lewandowski, at the 2:10 mark, shot a jumper from the paint, adding a combined four points. 

After Richmond called a 30-second timeout, senior guard Aniyah Carpenter shot her first jumper of the game. Freshman guard Katie Hill followed a Tribe three-pointer with a layup, and freshman guard Sydney Boone scored the final two points for the Spiders with a jumper, bringing the score to 90-52. 

“A great game for us,” head coach Aaron Roussell said during the post game press conference. “I’m really proud of the effort.” 

The Richmond Spiders will play again at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2021 against the Longwood University Lancers at their home court, Willett Hall. 

Contact sports co-editor Andrew Cardounel at andrew.cardounel@richmond.edu.