Women’s basketball defeats fifth place Fordham

The University of Richmond defeated Fordham University 79-69 yesterday after the Rams closed the Spider’s 36 point lead to 10 points in the final quarter of the game. 

Senior guard Kate Klimkiewicz added 15 points to her career in this game and now sits only 7 points away from becoming a member of the women’s basketball 1,000 Point Scorers, which is home to 25 members. 

The Spiders entered into their 28th game sitting at an overall record of 14-13 and an Atlantic 10 record of 5-9. Whereas the Fordham Rams hovered over the Spiders sitting at 16-8 overall and 7-5 A10.

The first quarter began with Fordham winning the jump ball and a missed three-pointer, but sophomore guard Siobhan Ryan got the rebound. The ball ended up in sophomore forward Addie Budnik’s hands, and she swished a quick Spider’s three. Senior forward Emma Squires followed behind Budnik with a turnaround jumper to add two more points. 

The Rams tied the quarter at 7:32 with a three-pointer, but Budnik was feeling the heat and swished a three of her own. Ryan and sophomore guard Grace Townsend made back-to-back driving plays leading to layups, adding another four tallies to UR’s score and gaining a 12-5 lead. 

With a little over four minutes left in the quarter and a shooting foul by the Rams, Townsend stepped onto the line and swished two frees. Klimkiewicz followed her teammates in white and red with a driving play into a layup. She then one-upped herself with a three-pointer at 2:38. 

Townsend and Squires, within seconds of one another, added a layup and a quick jumper for the Spider’s last points in the first quarter, leaving UR leading 23-7.

Klimkiewicz stepped out in the second period with a snazzy three-pointer. In the minutes following her three, UR displayed a true Spider’s strong offense by tallying up six points in under two minutes with three layups. The Spiders displayed another gallant offense with two frees, a layup by Budnik and a layup by Klimkiewicz–who was halfway to being a part of the UR 1,000 Point Scorers. 

UR entered halftime leading 40-19 after Budnik added the Spider’s last two points with a quick layup. 

The Rams came out swinging in the third quarter with a three against the Spider’s defense, but 10 seconds later Townsend sank a three of her own. Feeling the energy, she drove through the Rams defense and added a layup and a free. With 7:30 left, Klimkiewicz inched two points closer to her 1,000 points with a jump shot, which left her just 10 points away from the feat. 

The Spiders continued to stack up the points on the horns of the Rams. With 3:31 on the clock, the Spiders lead 63-33 after a three by Squires. At 0:46 Klimkiewicz went 2-2 with frees and was only 7 points away from her 1,000th point. UR had the edge with 67-41. 

In the last quarter, the Rams were quick to catch up and closed the Spiders' lead to 10 points. At 2:02, the gap was closing 76-66. 

With 1:31 left, Townsend added a second-chance layup following an aggressive drive through the Rams defense which she was fouled and went 1-2 for frees. 

The game ended with the Rams closing the 36 point gap to 10 points, but the Spiders still secured the 79-69 win.

The Spiders will play again at 1 p.m. on Feb. 26 against the third-place Virginia Commonwealth University in UR’s last game before the Atlantic 10 Championship. 

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