Spiders Erase Double-Digit Deficit to Defeat VCU in Final Second

Saturday, February 26

Richmond, VA

1 p.m.

University of Richmond

16-13,7-9Atlantic 10

VCU

14-10,9-5Atlantic 10

Richmond

VCU

Spiders Erase Double-Digit Deficit to Defeat VCU in Final Second

02/26/2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Spiders erased a double-digit deficit Saturday afternoon to defeat crosstown rival VCU, 59-57, in their regular season finale at the Siegel Center. After being down by 17 in the first half, the Spiders (16-13, 7-9 A-10) were knotted up with the Rams (14-10, 9-5 A-10) in the closing seconds when sophomore Addie Budnik drove in off the inbounds for the game-winning layup in the final second of the game.

"This was a fantastic win for our program. Obviously, things looked really bleak at 26-9. The ball wasn't going in and I didn't feel like we were moving very well," said head coach Aaron Roussell. "I thought the biggest difference for us today was that we rebounded really well. I thought our toughness was there, and we showed a lot of grit. There weren't a lot of people in this building that thought this was going to go this way after that first quarter. I thought we were great in the last three minutes, and we are definitely going to enjoy this one."

VCU took an 8-4 lead at 6:31 in the first with back-to-back threes, and after a triple from Claire Holt pulled it to 10-9 at 3:48, the Rams would hold the Spiders scoreless the rest of the frame while closing out the period on an 8-0 run for an 18-9 lead.

The Rams kept the run going into the second, eventually building up to a game-high 17-point lead at 26-9 with 4:54 to go. Richmond did not score in the period until a pair of free throws from Sydney Boone at 4:37, and the Spiders would go on to score 12 in the last 4:37, including last-minute layups from Katie Hill and Kate Klimkiewicz which cut the deficit to 31-21 going into halftime.

A couple of quick Richmond triples forced a VCU timeout at 8:10 in the third, and Boone added her second trey of the day at 1:45 to make it 39-32. Budnik knocked down a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to go to send Richmond into the final frame down by just six points at 41-35.

The Spiders narrowed the gap to 50-46 and forced a VCU timeout at 3:33 in the fourth, and Emma Squires came out of that timeout with her second triple in a span of just over a minute to make it a one-point game. Back-to-back layups from Budnik and Hill gave Richmond the 53-52 lead with 1:33 to go, and Holt retook the lead with a layup before Squires hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to 57-54 with 10 seconds remaining. VCU responded with a triple to tie things back up with five seconds to go and force a Richmond timeout, and then the inbounds set Budnik up for the game-winning driving layup with 1.1 seconds on the clock.

Notables

Saturday is the second time Richmond has overcome a double-digit deficit to win a game this season, previously coming back from a 12-point deficit at Florida Atlantic Dec. 19 to win 81-63.
After shooting 29.6 percent from the field in the first half, the Spiders shot 48.1 percent in the second half including 9-of-13 in the fourth.
Richmond outrebounded VCU 44-36, led by Addie Budnik with nine boards. Grace Townsend and Kate Klimkiewicz each pulled down seven rebounds apiece.
Emma Squires led the Spiders in scoring with 21 points, 17 of those coming in the second half. She added six rebounds and tied a career-high three steals.
In addition to her nine rebounds, Addie Budnik finished the day with 12 points, 10 of those coming in the second half, and two blocks.
Sydney Boone shot 3-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 beyond the arc for 10 points in the game.

The Spiders await final seedings for the Atlantic 10 Championship that is set to take place March 2-6 at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del.

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