Richmond Wins Shootout At Duquesne, 80-78

Sunday, January 10

Pittsburgh, PA

2PM

University of Richmond

5-3,2-1Atlantic 10

Duquesne

2-6,1-3Atlantic 10

Richmond

Duquesne

01/10/2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team shot a season high 50 percent from the three-point line and held off Duquesne, 80-78, Sunday at the Kerr Fitness Center on the campus of La Roche University. Freshman Addie Budnik (Highland Park, Ill.) filled the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

The Spiders improve to 5-3 and 2-1 in the Atlantic 10 after completing a two-game road sweep. It is the first win on the road against Duquesne since Jan. 19, 2011. This is also the first time Richmond has started 2-1 or better in the A-10 since the 2017-18 season.

"That was a fun, fast-paced game," head coach Aaron Roussell said. "We struggled at times defensively, but we seemingly answered on the other end with big buckets every time we needed them. We were due for a breakout shooting game and hopefully this gives us a boost going forward."

With under a minute left in the game, Duquesne cut Richmond's lead to 79-76 after a layup plus the foul from Megan McConnell. The Dukes got within one point after two free throws from Laia Sole to make it 79-78 with 36 seconds left. Freshman Grace Townsend (Midlothian, Va.) was able to come up with a loose ball after a missed three-pointer and classmate Siobhan Ryan (Buffalo, N.Y.) hit one free throw to push the lead to 80-78 with 6.7 seconds on the clock. Duquesne got the ball to McConnell who missed a layup to tie and Townsend secured the rebound to clinch the win.

Richmond shot 49.1 (27-for-55) from the field and hit a season-best 13 three-pointers. The Spiders outrebounded Duquesne, 38-33. Junior Kate Klimkiewicz (Oakton, Va.) had 14 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Elaina Chapman (Richmond, Va.) added 13 points and five rebounds. Townsend came off the bench to contribute six points, seven rebounds and a season-high seven assists.

UR dished out a season-high 23 assists and had seven blocks in the victory. It was a balanced effort as nine of the 10 players who played scored and came away with 22 bench points.

Richmond started the game on fire hitting their first eight shots of the game to build a 20-8 lead. The Spiders led 28-20 after one quarter, their most ever since a 27-point first quarter against Wake Forest in 2017. Richmond shot 73.3 percent (11-for-15) and 75.0 percent from the three-point line (6-for-8) in the first quarter.

The Dukes answered with a 9-0 run to start the second quarter and take a 29-28 lead. Duquesne outscored Richmond 21-14 in the second quarter but the Spiders led 42-41 at halftime. Chapman led the team in scoring with nine points and Ryan added six points off two three-pointers.

The third quarter was back and forth as each team scored 20 points. Duquesne took an early three-point lead at 47-44 off a three-pointer from Kiersten Elliott. Budnik gave Richmond the lead back after a 5-0 run to make it 49-47. With four minutes left in the third, both teams made three-pointers on four-straight possessions. Sole scored four points in a row to give Duquesne a 61-59 lead with 36 seconds left in the quarter. Holt answered with a three-pointer to beat the buzzer and send Richmond into the final quarter with a 62-61 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Richmond build a five-point lead at 68-63 after two free throws from Budnik. Budnik finished with nine points in the final quarter, including a key three-pointer with two minutes remaining. The Spiders went 7-for-9 from the free throw line in the final period. UR held Duquesne to just 33.3 percent from the field and just 1-for-6 from the three-point line in the final quarter.

"This was a big weekend for our team, I'm incredibly proud of the improvement we have shown over the last few weeks," Roussell added. "We know we can play better, and are still finding ways to win as we build for later in the season which is exciting."

The Spiders return home for a four-game home stand that will start with George Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m.

For all the latest information on the team, follow SpiderWBBall on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

- UR -