Six Spiders Score in Double-Figures in Dominating Win Over William & Mary

Sunday, December 12

Robins Center

2 p.m.

University of Richmond

5-4,0-0Atlantic 10

William & Mary

4-6,0-0CAA

Team	1	2	3	4	F
William & Mary	4	14	14	20	52
Richmond	13	23	27	27	90

Photo by: Stephen Blue

Six Spiders Score in Double-Figures in Dominating Win Over William & Mary

12/12/2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Press Conference

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team heated up after a slow start Sunday afternoon and shot 57.6% from the field as they defeated rival William & Mary, 90-52, at the Robins Center. Six different Spiders scored in double-figures and a pair of Spiders made their season debuts to help Richmond improve to 5-4 this season while the Tribe dropped to 4-6.

"I'm proud of our effort today. I think we've had a couple good defensive performances, but I thought the way that we dictated today, guarded the ball, and got out in passing lanes was great. We forced 17 turnovers today. That's a good number, and I felt like we just made [W&M] uncomfortable," said head coach Aaron Roussell. "Offensively, it took us awhile to get going. I kind of figured that would happen because [W&M] is a really well-coached team. They are very disciplined and changed defenses quite a bit. I think when we're rolling, distributing the ball, and stepping into shots, we're a really good shooting team."

The Spiders won the tip and got on the board first, but it was a slow start for both teams as the score stood at 2-2 until 6:25 when freshman Cayla Williams sparked some momentum with a perfectly executed and-one. She also sparked a 9-0 run for the Spiders in which they took an 11-2 lead, and Richmond held a 13-4 advantage after the first quarter.

Things started heating up in the second period as the Spiders shot 5-of-8 from beyond the arc in the frame, including three straight triples spanning one minute to push the lead to 26-8 with 5:09 to go in the quarter. The Tribe got a triple back at the buzzer to head into halftime with Richmond leading 36-18.

Richmond opened the third quarter up on a 7-0 run, and two 3-pointers in 41 seconds from Kylee Lewandowksi later extended the lead to 56-29 with 3:00 remaining. After five more triples in the third, the Spiders entered the final frame with a 63-32 lead and in the middle of an 11-0 run that would be capped by a Claire Holt layup at 8:58 in the fourth. After never trailing at all in the game, Richmond reached its largest lead of the night in the final minute with a layup that made it 90-50. William & Mary was able to get one bucket back with 23 seconds to go to cut its deficit to 38 points at 90-52.

Notables

Sunday was the first time six players have scored in double-figures since Nov. 22, 2017 against Savannah State.
The Spiders shot 57.6 percent from the field in the game and 72.4 percent in just the second half. Kate Klimkiewicz shot a perfect 100 percent, going 6-for-6 from the field including 2-for-2 beyond the arc for a team-high 14 points.
Richmond forced 17 turnovers and had 10 steals, led by Klimkiewicz with three.
On the boards, Richmond outrebounded W&M 40-27 overall including 28-14 on the defensive end.
Freshman Katie Hill made her collegiate debut Sunday while sophomore Maya Ettle made her season debut.
Freshman Cayla Williams posted a career-high 11 points alongside a team-high six rebounds and two blocks.
Addie Budnik scored in double-figures in her seventh straight game with 13 points. She added six rebounds, four assists, and four blocks.
Grace Townsend, Siobhan Ryan, and Emma Squires rounded out the Spiders in double-figures with 10 points each.

The Spiders play the first of three straight road games leading into the holiday break this Wednesday at Longwood. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Farmville.

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