Spiders Outlast Billikens on the Road

Sunday, January 30

Saint Louis, MO

2 p.m.

University of Richmond

13-8,4-4Atlantic 10

Saint Louis

6-11,2-3Atlantic 10

Richmond

Saint Louis

Photo by: Bill Barrett

01/30/2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Book

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Richmond Spiders faced off against Saint Louis Sunday afternoon on the road and got back on track by picking up the 61-54 victory against the Billikens on national television.

With the win, Richmond (13-8, 4-4 A-10) snaps an eight-game skid against Saint Louis (6-11, 2-3 A-10).

"This was a really huge win for us. We have not played very well at all this last week, and this was one of those where you didn't really care how it happened or how smooth everything was. We just needed to get a win in any way, and I thought that was the attitude of our kids over the last two days at practice," said head coach Aaron Roussell. "Everything wasn't smooth, everything wasn't clicking necessarily offensively, but I thought we really competed the last two days at practice. It wasn't just the players who played either. The practice atmosphere was just different, and I think that allowed us to grind one out today."

The Spiders got off to a bit of a slow start and found themselves down by eight with 3:05 to go in the first, but Grace Townsend swiped a pass that led to a triple from Emma Squires at 2:28, and another Squires three shortly after sparked a 9-0 run for Richmond to close the first quarter. Addie Budnik hit one from deep with three seconds to go in the frame to give the Spiders their first lead of the game at 16-14.

Richmond's run continued into the second quarter with a pair of quick layups that forced a Saint Louis timeout, and late in the period, the Spiders scored six straight points to hit a double-digit lead at 30-20 with 1:31 left in the frame. Budnik hit a layup in the last 28 seconds to send Richmond into halftime with a 32-23 lead.

The Billikens opened the third with seven quick straight points to cut their deficit down to two points. Townsend brought that run to a halt with a layup at 8:18, but Saint Louis responded with five straight to retake the lead. Exactly a minute later, Budnik grabbed the lead back with a steal and layup before nailing a 3-pointer at 4:35 to put the Spiders up 39-35. She hit another with 29 seconds left to make it 46-40, and that's how the score would stand heading into the final frame.

Saint Louis cut its deficit to two points twice early in the fourth, but the Spiders pushed their lead back to eight with back-to-back triples to force another Billiken timeout at 4:26. Townsend took advantage of her and-one opportunity at 2:07 to extend Richmond's lead to 57-48, and she closed out the game with a pair of free throws in the last eight seconds to make it 61-54.

Notables

Grace Townsend was a perfect 5-of-5 at the charity stripe and led the Spiders with seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals. She finished the day with 15 points on 5-oof-8 shooting from the field.
Addie Budnik led all scorers in the game with 17 points including a team-high three triples. She also tied Townsend for a team-high three steals.
Emma Squires rounded out the Spiders in double-figures with 11 points including two huge threes at the end of the first quarter. She also pulled down five rebounds and swiped a pass.
Claire Holt earned her first start of the season and finished with five points, two assists, and a steal.

The Spiders return home to host VCU Wednesday, Feb. 2. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., and it is the National Girls and Women in Sports Day Celebration presented by Carmax.

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