Squires, Townsend Record Double-Doubles as Second-Half Surge Falls Short at Ohio

Saturday, December 4

Athens, OH

1 p.m.

University of Richmond

4-4,0-0Atlantic 10

Ohio

4-2,0-0MAC

Richmond

Ohio

Squires, Townsend Record Double-Doubles as Second-Half Surge Falls Short at Ohio

12/04/2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio – A pair of Spiders recorded double-doubles and four Spiders scored in double-figures Saturday afternoon as Richmond women's basketball fought back to erase a double-digit deficit at Ohio before ultimately coming up just short against the Bobcats, 98-89. The Spiders are now 4-4 this season while the Bobcats improve to 4-2.

Emma Squires and Grace Townsend each had career outings that culminated in double-doubles. Squires posted a career-high 28 points, 22 of them coming in the second half, alongside a tied career-high 10 rebounds while Townsend posted 11 points and dished out a career-high 10 assists.

"That was an entertaining and exciting game. Both teams were explosive and players on both sides came up big," said head coach Aaron Roussell. "Offensively, we saw some great things today and hopefully that's a great sign as we move toward a tough stretch coming up. Ohio's ability to get to the free throw line on top of getting hot from three at the end was just too much for us to overcome. I'm proud of our fight and ability to come back as we were down 16 and eventually took a five-point lead. [Ohio] is a good team with two of the best players we will see all season."

Richmond trailed by 16 points with 2:36 to go in the second quarter, but stormed back in the second half. Siobhan Ryan cut Richmond's deficit to single digits in the first minute of the third period after a pair of free throws and a layup, and the Spiders got hot on the floor in the frame to erase their deficit completely when Townsend fed Squires for a trey at the 2:26 mark to put Richmond up 56-55. The duo combined for three triples in the quarter, and Richmond trailed by just two points at 65-63 after a last-minute 3-pointer for Ohio in the frame.

The Spiders came out firing beyond the arc in the fourth quarter starting with Claire Holt who hit a 3-pointer 46 seconds into the frame to retake the lead, and she once again retook the lead with another triple at 8:22. The Spiders and Bobcats then exchanged buckets and leads throughout the frame as Addie Budnik and Squires each drained a 3-pointer before Kate Klimkiewicz hit one to give Richmond its biggest lead of the game at 82-77 with 3:40 to go.

Ohio drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to take an 88-84 lead at 1:39, but Squires responded with a layup at 1:22 to keep the Spiders in reach. The Bobcats were able to take advantage of free throws down the stretch to get out to a 94-86 lead in the last minute, and Ryan pulled Richmond back within five points with a triple to make it 94-89 with 20 seconds to go, but Ohio closed things out with four more free throws.

Notables

The Spiders shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field in the third quarter in addition to 7-of-10 from the free throw line, and drilled nine 3-pointers in the second half including six in the final frame. Richmond went on to outshoot Ohio 44.1 percent to 39.4 percent from the field in the game.
Emma Squires posted a career-high 28 points, 22 of those points coming in Richmond's second-half surge. She shot 9-of-12 from the field including four triples and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Squires hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds, which ties a career-high, for her second-career double-double. She also added three assists and two steals.
Grace Townsend dished out a career-high 10 assists in the game with nine of them coming in the second half. She also posted 11 points for her first career double-double.
Addie Budnik was one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. She has now scored in double-figures in seven consecutive games.
Kate Klimkiewicz rounded out the Spiders in double-figure scoring with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

The Spiders return to action Dec. 12 when they host William & Mary at home for a 2 p.m. tip.

-- UR --