Women’s basketball secures milestone win against Fordham

The University of Richmond women’s basketball team remains undefeated at home this season after a win against the Fordham University Rams. 

The Feb. 3 win was a major milestone for the Spiders as it marked the 1,000th in program history since its establishment in 1919.

The Spiders got the early lead, ending the first period up 27-15 with sophomore forward Maggie Doogan notably scoring 8 points. 

The second period started off rough for the Spiders with Fordham scoring five points unanswered. The Rams’ strong defense sent the Spiders into an almost-seven-minute scoring drought. 

The period ended 33-31. While still leading, UR’s struggle was evident with its field goal percentage this period down to 27 and 3-point percentage at 0, which was a major difference compared to making 40% of its field goals and 60% of its 3-pointers in the first. 

Two minutes into the third period, Fordham was able to take its first lead of the night, and the score was 35-33. The Spiders got back into their groove, and both teams went into a brief period of scoring back-and-forth. Free throws were important to the Spiders as they got 9 of their 24 points in the third period from the line. 

The Spiders began to put to use Fordham’s turnovers, and after sophomore guard Rachel Ullstrom scored two back-to-back 3-pointers, UR was able to reestablish its dominance and went into the fourth quarter up 57-47. 

In the final period, Fordham got the scoring started with a field goal, but it was quickly followed by a 3-pointer from senior guard Grace Townsend and a huge effort by the Spiders to regain their lead margin. By the time the final period was halfway through, UR was up 66-51. The game concluded with UR winning 79-60.

“Obviously that second period was a little rough,” UR Head Coach Aaron Roussell said in a postgame press conference. “I don’t think we really handled their change and their adjustment very well, but that’s on me.” 

During the press conference he also praised the team’s performance in the third and fourth periods.  

“I’m really proud of the way they really bounced back today,” he said. “Halfway through that third quarter I think we found our groove a little bit offensively and attacked it in a couple different ways that worked.”

The women’s basketball team is now 9-1 in conference play and 19-4 overall. The Spiders play their next game in Rhode Island against the Rams at 6 p.m. Feb. 7.  

Contact sports writer Erica Rogers at erica.rogers@richmond.edu.