Women's basketball loses to Davidson University, 71-77

Davidson University defeated the University of Richmond women’s basketball on the Spider’s home court at the Robins Center Wednesday night.

The Wildcats and Spiders battled in their 10th Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season. Both teams left that night with a 4-7 conference record. The Wildcats walked away with an overall record of 13-10, and UR departed one point behind at 13-11. 

While the Spiders took a hard defeat, four players were able to walk away with at least one win. 

Senior guard Claire Holt led the team with a season-high 18 points, followed by freshman guard Katie Hill, senior guard Kate Klimkiewicz and senior forward Emma Squires with their respective 13, 12 and 11 points. 

At the six-minute mark in the first period, the Spiders led 10-5 after going on a quick 5-point rally. With the remaining minutes, the Spiders doubled their points, and by the end of the first period, UR was up 20-15 against the Wildcats.

UR continued their lead into the second period as both teams played well offensively while also displaying a strong defense. At the peak of the second period, UR had a 10-point lead, but at the 2:02 mark, the Wildcats tied the game 30-30. 

Holt responded to the tied score with a three-pointer, and seconds later, Holt and sophomore guard Siobhan Ryan added their own threes. The Spiders wrapped up the second period leading 39-37. 

The turning point for the Wildcats came in the second half. Within the first seconds of the third period, the Wildcats sank a three against the Spiders and gained a 15-point lead, but the Spiders were able to close that gap to 11 points by the end of the third period, falling behind to 53-64.

UR continued to close the gap to two points on three separate occasions, but in the final minutes, the Spiders were down by eight points. Hill was able to sink a jump shot with four seconds left in the game to bring the 8-point gap to six points. 

The Spiders and Wildcats displayed similar shooting percentages throughout the game. The Wildcats shot 50% flat in field goals going 28-56. Their three-pointers sat at a low 32%, going 7-22. 

The Spiders shot a little less, making 47% of their field goals going 27-57, but outshot the Wildcats in three-pointers at 38%, going 11-29. 

The UR women’s basketball team will play again at 2 p.m. on Feb. 13 against La Salle University at the Spider’s home court at the Robins Center for the Annual Play4Kay game.

The Play4Kay event, explained by Kay Yow15 Cancer Fund, is meant to unite players, coaches and fans to raise awareness and funds for cancer. The vision comes from Kay Yow — a women’s basketball coach for North Carolina State University — who sought to bring communities together and fight against all cancers affecting women. 

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