The University of Richmond women’s basketball team handed the previously undefeated United States Naval Academy its first loss of the season Nov. 23, defeating the Midshipmen 69-56 inside the Robins Center. Richmond improved to 5-1 with the victory, while Navy fell to 4-1.
Senior forward Maggie Doogan recorded her 15th career double-double, finishing with 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. Junior guard Ally Sweeney added a season-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, along with eight assists and six rebounds. Richmond outrebounded Navy 47-31 and outscored the Midshipmen with 30 points in the paint.
Head coach Aaron Roussell opened the postgame conference by emphasizing both the quality of the opponent and the challenge the team faced when securing the win.
“It felt really good to get out of here with a win today.” Roussell said. “It’s a really, really well-coached team. I thought their game plan was solid.”
Richmond began the game with an early surge from senior guard Rachel Ullstrom, who scored eight straight points, knocking down two back-to-back threes and converting a layup to give the Spiders an 8-2 lead. Richmond led 19-14 after the first quarter, but offensive stagnation and early turnovers allowed Navy to tie the game at 19 and keep close during the first half. Richmond entered halftime with a narrow 31-30 advantage.
Navy opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 36-33 lead. Richmond responded with free throws from Doogan and senior forward Sam Dewey, eventually tying the game before Navy pushed ahead, 41-36. Richmond closed the period strong, with Doogan scoring at the buzzer to secure a 49-46 lead going into the fourth. Doogan, who battled through stretches of frustration, earned specific recognition from her coach for her rebounding response and resilience.
“Your first thought is to try to go help them and fix them… I was like, I don’t need to fix this, she’s fine,” Roussell said. “We won a game when, quote, Maggie wasn’t at her best… and by the way, she had 17-14-4.”
The momentum carried into the final quarter as the Spiders opened with a decisive 9-0 run fueled by Sweeney and Dewey. Richmond controlled the game from that point on, limiting Navy to 10 fourth-quarter points and committing only one turnover.
“Sam sets one heck of a ball screen,” Sweeney said. “It’s my job to use that… and I finally started listening.”
Roussell attributed the fourth-quarter success to adjustments in ball-screen execution and improved rebounding.
“The fourth quarter is just about ball screens,” he said. “We’re still really good when the ball’s in Ally Sweeney’s hands. I think she did a tremendous job of settling us down.”
On the defensive end, Richmond held Navy to 31% shooting and limited the Midshipmen’s perimeter threats through disciplined matchups. Richmond remains undefeated on the home court this season, with a 29-2 mark on its home floor since 2023-24.
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Richmond returns to action later this week as the Spiders open tournament play to face No. 10 Texas Christian University and the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay on Nov. 27 and Nov. 28 in Cancun.
Contact sports writer Farah Šertović at farah.sertovic@richmond.edu
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