Spiders Soar: UR Women's Basketball Crushes Delaware State 105-44 in a ‘Resilient’ Victory

The University of Richmond women’s basketball team triumphed over Delaware State University 105-44 at home Nov. 12. 

UR started the game shooting 66.7% from the court, and its defense kept the Hornets at just above 23%. Senior guard Grace Townsend’s speed was pivotal in the team’s early success, giving the Spiders 9 fast breaks in the first quarter, and it paved the way for their 18-0 run, which gave  the team a 28-7 lead with one quarter in the books. 

The second quarter started with a shot from Delaware State. While the Spiders shot well in the second quarter, the team’s strong shooting percentage dropped nearly 10 percent in the second quarter from nearly 67% down to 58%. 

Coming out of the media timeout in the second quarter, Grace Townsend and graduate guard Laren VanArsdale put their “stamp on the game today … forcing nine turnovers in the last five minutes of the quarter,” UR Head Coach Aaron Roussell in the postgame press conference. UR gained lots of momentum from its offensive pressure. 

At halftime, UR led Delaware State 57-18. The Spiders’ strong lead allowed the team to get all of its players in, paving the way for first-year forwards Melissa Mwanza and Courtney Swider to record their first collegiate career points. 

Roussell attributed the pressure in the first half to the team “making [Delaware State] really uncomfortable offensively.” 

Coming back from their season opening loss on Monday at Duke University, Roussell felt that the team “really upped the pressure” and was especially impressed with the way it forced “26 turnovers without giving up an assist.” He described it as something he’s never seen before, and noted that their resilience would be key in this season's success. 

In the second half, the Spiders continued with their offensive pressure while showcasing their strong defense, keeping Delaware's shooting average below 37% and 33%, respectively, from the field and from 3-point range. UR maintained its offensive and defensive pressure, adeptly passing through the Hornets’ defense. 

The Spiders continued their scoring runs with a 7-0 run in the third quarter, with travels and other fouls holding the Hornets back from strong offensive plays. 

Opening the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer by Townsend, assisted by first-year guard Ally Sweeney, who Roussell said had “three of the best assists” of the game, set the stage for the last quarter where the team got over 100 points for the first time since December of 2022. 

Reeling from their victory in the post game press conference, senior guard Siobhan Ryan said for future games she hoped that “if we go into that, with that mentality, into any game, we’ve proven to ourselves how good we can be and just keep rolling and get those wins.” 

Roussell also added, “the biggest thing I’ve learned is what I thought I knew of them, coming into it. It’s just the resilience and just the toughness we had. That was a really impressive performance today.” 

UR’s next game is at Gardner-Webb University at 11 a.m. Nov. 15th. 

Contact sports writer Madeleine Brodeur at madeleine.brodeur@richmond.edu.