Women’s basketball loses season opener to Duke

Playing at storied Cameron Indoor Stadium on Coach K Court, the University of Richmond women’s basketball team opened its 2023-2024 season with an 83-53 loss to Duke University Nov. 6. 

Coming off an appearance in the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament earlier this year, hopes were high as the Spiders took to the floor for the first time since March. However, starting the season with a clash against Duke, a power-five conference school known for having some of the nation’s most elite athletic programs, would prove a challenge from the get-go. 

The Spiders got off to a slow start, missing their first four field goals of regulation — three of which were missed by sophomore forward Maggie Doogan. Unfortunately for the Spiders, the struggle to make shots early proved to be a harbinger of things to come, as throughout the game, UR made 21 of its 60 shots, rounding out to a 34.4% clip. 

For the first quarter junior guard Katie Hill got UR on the board with a free throw two and half minutes into gameplay, and after a jumper fell for senior forward Addie Budnik, the Spiders were on their way. After the first 10 minutes, the Spiders trailed the Blue Devils 18-9.

“[Duke] definitely jumped on us early,” UR Head Coach Aaron Roussell said in a postgame press conference. “I think that first media timeout they had like 7 offensive rebounds and I think that kind of put us on our heels a little bit.”

The second quarter saw the Spiders score more points, talling 16 total as a team compared to 9 in the first, but UR’s defense still gave up 21 points, bringing the deficit to 14 entering halftime. A Budnik 3-pointer made it a 12-point game with 48 seconds to go in half one, but the Blue Devils were able to get one more shot in to make it 39-25.

In the second half, any hopes of a UR comeback seemed to slip away as the Spiders dug themselves a hole on the scoreboard they could not escape from. The Blue Devils outscored the Spiders 25-11 through the first 10 minutes of the second half and what was a 14-point deficit turned into a 28-point deficit by the time the third quarter was through. 

UR’s defense could not handle Duke’s offensive output as the Blue Devils shot 68.75% from field goal range and 75% from 3-point range in the quarter. The Spiders, on the other hand, shot at a 27.78% clip from field goal range and went 1-for-7 from the 3-point arc over the 10-minute span. 

Throughout the game, UR shot just 36.4% from the free throw line as well, adding to their low percentages to start the campaign. 

In the final quarter of play, the Spiders allowed the Blue Devils’ lead to increase to as many as 32 points, but ultimately finished off the game down by 30. Duke’s defensive intensity never faltered as the Blue Devils kept the full court pressure for the majority of the fourth quarter. 

“[Duke] really bothered us today,” Roussell said. “I think we kind of talked about being able to handle their pressure. I think we handled their full court press okay, I just think it took us out of our rhythm a little bit” 

Budnik led the way for UR with 17 points and 6 rebounds with sophomore Rachel Ullstrom chipping in 11 points off the bench. With the loss, the Spiders’ record sits at 0-1 to start the young season. 

Despite the loss, however, the matchup against Duke was a significant improvement on last year’s efforts against the Blue Devils. 

The Spiders hosted Duke at the Robins Center Dec. 4, 2022 and lost 100-49. This year, that 51-point gap turned into a 30-point gap, and the Spiders held the Blue Devils to 17 fewer points than in last year’s contest. 

Still, the Spiders will need to bounce back in their next few games, as they will have their fair share of tough opponents as the season progresses, with matchups against Villanova University and Michigan State University coming in the next month and a half.

“This year we have a ton of potential,” Budnik said back in September on the team’s first practice of the season. “We have a lot of people returning, we have all five starters returning, we have a bunch of the freshmen from last year coming back, but then we also have some new pieces. We have a couple grad transfers and the freshmen are fitting in really well.”

UR’s home opener will take place at 2 p.m. Nov. 12 against Delaware State University where the Spiders will look to get their first victory of the year.

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu