Spiders Tame Lady Lions to Close Non-Conference Play

Sunday, December 21

Henrico, Va.

2:30 p.m.

University of Richmond

11-3,1-0Atlantic 10

Penn State

7-5,0-1Big Ten

Richmond

Penn St.

12/21/2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GLEN ALLEN, Va. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team rounded out non-conference play Sunday, picking up a 70-54 win over Penn State inside the Henrico Sports & Events Center behind 30 points from Maggie Doogan, a career-high 20 points from Ally Sweeney and Rachel Ullstrom's third career double-double. With the win, the Spiders finished non-conference play at 11-3 overall, including an Atlantic 10 Conference win, while going 4-1 at home (5-1 overall), 3-1 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites during the stretch. The Lady Lions fell to 7-5 on the season.

Richmond Starters
Sweeney, Newell, Persichetti, Ullstrom, Doogan

How it Happened
Maggie Doogan opened the scoring for the Spiders with a quick layup, while Rachel Ullstrom followed with one of her own after a Lady Lion turnover to give Richmond an early 4-0 lead. Penn State answered with a jumper before Doogan went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe for a three-point lead, 5-2. PSU cut the lead to one on a layup, but a trey from Doogan pushed the advantage back to four, 8-4, with 6:39 left in the opening quarter. After another Lady Lion layup, Ally Sweeney and Doogan combined for five points to extend the lead to 10-6. After exchanging points, Penn State scratched back to within three, 17-14, before Ullstrom converted a layup as time expired to send Richmond into the second quarter ahead 19-14.

Doogan opened the second 10 minutes with a jumper to push the Spider lead to 21-14. Alicia Newell followed with a made free throw before a Penn State three cut the margin to five, 22-17. Sweeney and Doogan then posted back-to-back layups to rebuild the lead to nine, but another Lady Lion trey trimmed it to six, 26-20. After exchanging baskets, Newell and Doogan again delivered back-to-back layups for a 32-23 Spider advantage with 2:35 remaining in the half. Penn State added a layup, but Sweeney and Doogan combined for four points to send Richmond into the locker room with a 36-25 lead.

Ullstrom opened the second half with a three-pointer before Penn State responded with a layup to make it 39-27. After trading baskets, Doogan completed an and-one to extend the lead to 16. Tierra Simon and Doogan followed with four more points to push the margin to 20, 49-29. The Lady Lions chipped away late in the quarter with a 4-0 run, but Sweeney capped the period with a triple to give Richmond a 56-41 edge heading into the final 10 minutes.

Sweeney continued her strong scoring effort in the fourth, opening the quarter with two layups and a free throw between a Penn State basket to stretch the lead to 18, 61-43. After a 4-0 PSU spurt, Doogan ended the drought with a jumper, though the Lady Lions responded immediately with three-points. Sweeney and Newell then combined for five points to push the advantage to 68-50. Penn State added two late layups as Doogan capped her 30-point day with a bucket of her own to round out the scoring for UR, securing the 70-54 victory for the Spiders.

Notes on the Game

Maggie Doogan paced the Spiders with 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting, adding five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
Rachel Ullstrom recorded her third career double-double and second of the season with 12 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, along with one block and one steal.
Ally Sweeney scored a career-high 20 points, surpassing her previous high of 19 set at Loyola Chicago on Jan. 23, 2025. She also led the team with six assists and added one block and one steal.
Richmond held Penn State to its lowest point total of the season, previously 55 at No. 3 South Carolina.
Ava Persichetti made her second collegiate start and first since Nov. 12, 2025, at William & Mary.
The Spiders shot 29-of-64 (45.3%) from the field, knocked down six three-pointers and were 6-of-8 (75%) at the free throw line. Richmond totaled 29 rebounds, 14 assists, four blocks and six steals while scoring 46 points in the paint and 26 points off 21 Lady Lion turnovers.
Sweeney and Doogan played all 40 minutes.
Richmond earned its first program win over Penn State, moving the all-time series to 1-2 in favor of the Lady Lions.
Richmond forced 21 turnovers, marking the third time this season the Spiders have forced 20 or more turnovers.
Doogan recorded her second game this season with 30 or more points and the fifth of her career.

Up Next
The Spiders resume Atlantic 10 Conference play with a pair of road contests, beginning with a trip to Kingston, R.I., to face Rhode Island on Dec. 30 before opening the new year at St. Bonaventure on Jan. 3.