Squires, Spiders Heat Up in Second Half for Comeback Win Over FAU

Sunday, December 19

Boca Raton, FL

12 p.m.

University of Richmond

7-4,0-0Atlantic 10

Florida Atlantic

-46,00 CUSA

Richmond

Fla. Atlantic

Squires, Spiders Heat Up in Second Half for Comeback Win Over FAU

12/19/2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Richmond Spiders erased a double-digit deficit Sunday afternoon to defeat Florida Atlantic 81-63 in the first game of the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament. After trailing by 12 points in the last minute of the first half, the Spiders exploded for 55 points in the second half on 66 percent shooting from the field. Senior Emma Squires went off for 26 points in the second half, finishing the game with a tied career-high 28 points and career-high six triples.

With their third straight win, the Spiders improve to 7-4 overall this season while FAU drops to 4-6.

"I was really proud of the way we came out in the second half. We played with urgency and got after it a lot better defensively. That defensive energy showed up on the offensive end as we were able to get some easier looks in transition," said head coach Aaron Roussell. "Obviously, we weren't hitting in the first half, but I thought when we started attacking the rim better it opened up the arc a bit more. Once we started hitting, it was contagious and fun to watch."

Kate Klimkiewicz came out of the gate 3-of-3 from the field for Richmond's first six points of the game, including her first steal of the day that was taken all the way in for a layup. She finished the period with eight points as the Spiders trailed 20-12 after the first 10 minutes thanks to a last-minute jumper from Claire Holt.

A pair of early second-quarter buckets from freshmen Cayla Williams and Sydney Boone cut Richmond's deficit to four points at 20-16, but the Owls went on a 6-0 run to push their lead back to double-digits at 26-16 with 5:58 to go in the frame. Klimkiewicz hit double-figures with a triple at 5:26 and Siobhan Ryan drilled a 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining to send Richmond into halftime trailing 35-26.

The Spiders came out hot in the third quarter, opening the frame on a 6-0 run to force an early FAU timeout. After Williams retook the lead for Spiders at 39-37 with 6:13 to go in the third, it was all Squires as she lit up the floor for Richmond's last 12 points of the quarter to head into the final frame leading 54-49.

Squires didn't not cool down a bit in the fourth as she opened the frame with a triple and added another shortly after to push Richmond's lead to 62-53 with 7:43 to go. She hit four triples in the quarter as part of a 14-point effort in the final frame as the Spiders pulled away with a 12-0 run and never trailed by less than 15 points in the last 4:54 of the game.

Notables

Sunday marked the first time Richmond erased a double-digit deficit to win a game since Nov. 29, 2019 at Coastal Carolina when the Spiders erased a 10-point deficit to win 79-67.
Richmond outshot FAU 53 percent to 42 percent, and the Spiders were 8-of-10 in their last 10 shots of the game. Richmond shot just 39 percent from the field with two triples in the first half compared to 66 percent and eight triples in the second half.
Emma Squires did not miss a single basket in the second half as she shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the field including 6-of-6 behind the arc. She finished 10-of-13 for a tied career high 28 points with a career-high six triples.
Addie Budnik pushed her double-digit scoring streak to nine games with 11 points alongside five rebounds, a career-high five assists, and three blocks.
Kate Klimkiewicz finished her day with 13 points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals.
Siobhan Ryan led the Spiders on the boards with six rebounds beside nine points.