Ticket punched: Spiders headed to March Madness

The emphatic hugs UR Head Coach Aaron Roussell gave his senior players as they checked out of the game in the fourth quarter said it all. 

For the first time since 2005, the Spiders are going dancing. 

The University of Richmond women’s basketball team took down the University of Rhode Island 65-51 on March 10 in the Atlantic 10 Championship, securing an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This is the Spiders’ first A-10 Championship in the history of the program. 

“This has been just magical from these guys,” Roussell said in a postgame press conference. “Probably shouldn’t share this and maybe regret it later – there was a point in this game, man, where I thought I was gonna lose it, crying, just watching them play basketball.” 

Right out of the gates, the Spiders set the tone for the game, as late in the shot clock on their first possession, senior forward Addie Budnik hit senior guard Siobhan Ryan on a cut for UR’s first bucket. 

Budnik picked up right where she left off from the semifinal game against Duquesne University the day before, as she hit a 3-pointer to put the Spiders up 5-0 early. From that point on, UR continued to establish itself on the offensive end, inching ever closer to that sought after championship. 

URI began the game shooting 3-for-12 from the field, while UR had its shots falling from the get go. At the end of the first quarter, the score showed 14-7 in favor of the Spiders.

In the second quarter, the Spiders only increased their momentum. UR was able to hold the Rams scoreless for almost four minutes to start the quarter. 

It was 3-pointers that continually helped the Spiders extend their lead, as the team had made 5 by the halfway mark of the second quarter. 

Cheers were audible in the Henrico Sports and Events Center as a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Maggie Doogan late in the shot clock put the Spiders ahead 30-13 with 2:29 to go in the second quarter. 

Minutes later, just as the first half came to a close, Budnik sank her fourth 3-pointer of the game, only adding to her already stellar performance throughout the A-10 Tournament. 

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Budnik said in a postgame press conference. “When we came in four years ago, we weren’t winning, so to be here now is everything we could’ve imagined. We put in so much.”

Coming out of halftime, once again, the Rams were held scoreless for almost the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Spiders, on the other hand, continued their dominance. Cuts and strong passing only padded UR’s lead.

With 6:45 remaining in the third quarter, the Spiders capped off a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer from Ryan to jump out to a 25-point lead. And from there, a championship grew closer and closer to becoming a reality for UR. 

The fourth quarter saw URI make an effort to close the gap on the scoreboard. Suddenly, it seemed to be not as much of a runaway for the Spiders as it was in the previous three quarters. 

However, despite the Rams outscoring the Spiders across the final 10 minutes of gameplay, 20-15, the Spiders would ultimately seal the deal, winning by 14 points. 

Throughout the contest, UR shot 51% from the field while URI shot just 26.4%, making for a significant discrepancy in scoring. 

Doogan led the Spiders with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Budnik and Ryan each had 14 points, and senior guard Grace Townsend finished with 13 points. 

With the NCAA Tournament bracket schedule still unfolding, who the Spiders will face in March Madness is yet to be decided. Regardless of their Round of 64 opponent, however, UR will return to campus league champions, and a trip to the big dance will await the program after an almost 20-year drought. 

“Surreal is the word for it,” Ryan said in a postgame press conference. “This is what we’ve been dreaming about since we were little kids. But for the four of us [seniors], this is what we were dreaming for and this is what we committed to. We committed to the process.” 

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