Sweeney’s Career Day Fuels Richmond Past VCU in Crosstown Rivalry Victory

Sunday, February 1

Richmond, Va.

Noon

University of Richmond

18-4,8-1Atlantic 10

VCU

8-15,4-7Atlantic 10

Richmond

VCU

Sweeney’s Career Day Fuels Richmond Past VCU in Crosstown Rivalry Victory

02/01/2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The Spiders delivered the crosstown road victory before a reported attendance of 5,373 at the Siegel Center.

RICHMOND, Va. – Ally Sweeney erupted for a career-high 27 points, while Maggie Doogan recorded her 19th career double-double as the University of Richmond women's basketball team earned a 77-65 win at crosstown rival VCU on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Spiders improved to 18-4 overall and 8-1 in Atlantic 10 Conference play, while the Rams fell to 8-15 overall and 4-7 in league action.

Richmond Starters
Sweeney, Newell, Ullstrom, Simon, Doogan

How It Happened
Maggie Doogan opened the scoring with a jumper, and Rachel Ullstrom followed with a pair of free throws to give Richmond an early 4-0 lead. VCU answered with a jumper, but Doogan scored four straight points to push the advantage to six, 8-2. The Rams responded with a 4-0 run before Doogan converted another layup to make it 10-6 at the 3:47 mark. VCU again evened the score at 12, but Doogan answered with another basket, and after a VCU free throw cut the margin to one, Doogan knocked down two free throws and Tierra Simon added a three-pointer to give Richmond a 19-13 edge. VCU closed the quarter with a layup, sending the Spiders into the break leading 19-15. Doogan scored 12 points in the opening 10 minutes.

Richmond opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run as Alicia Newell finished at the rim and Sweeney knocked down a three-pointer to extend the lead to 24-15. After a VCU basket, Ullstrom responded with a layup to maintain the nine-point cushion. The Rams trimmed the deficit inside before Ullstrom and Doogan combined for four points to give Richmond a 30-19 lead at the 5:43 mark. VCU chipped away, but Rayne Wright made a free throw to keep the lead at 10. After trading baskets, Doogan converted four free throws late as Richmond headed into halftime with a 38-25 advantage.

VCU scored the first four points of the third quarter before Ullstrom ended the drought with a layup to make it 40-29. The Rams continued to push back, cutting the deficit to six, 44-38, midway through the period, but Sweeney answered with a three-pointer to swing momentum back to Richmond. Simon followed with a layup, and Sweeney connected from deep again as the Spiders stretched the lead to 52-38. After a VCU basket, Ullstrom and Doogan added four more points to give Richmond a 16-point edge before the Rams closed the quarter with a three-pointer, trimming the margin to 56-43 entering the final period.

Ullstrom opened the fourth quarter with a layup, but VCU responded on the other end with a trey. A Rams layup cut the lead to 10, 58-48, before Sweeney scored four straight points to restore a 14-point advantage at the 7:27 mark. After exchanging baskets, Sweeney drilled another three to make it 70-56. VCU answered with a 4-0 run to pull within 10, but Ullstrom buried a key three-pointer with just over a minute remaining while Sweeney added two free throws to pull away. VCU closed the scoring with a late basket as Richmond secured the 77-65 victory.

Notes on the Game

Ally Sweeney led the Spiders with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including five three-pointers, while adding two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Maggie Doogan posted her 19th career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, marking her 25th career game with 20 or more points. She added two assists and went a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line, setting a career high in made free throws. She also pushed her career point total to 1,921.
Rachel Ullstrom was the third Spider in double figures, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds. She increased her career point total to 1,450.
Alicia Newell led Richmond with three assists.
Richmond shot 26-of-49 (53.1 percent) from the field, 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) from three-point range and 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) at the free throw line. The Spiders recorded 32 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals, and scored 11 points off 15 VCU turnovers.
Richmond pushed its all-time series lead over VCU to 49-47 and has won seven straight meetings against the Rams.
The Spiders earned their sixth straight win inside the Siegel Center.
Richmond never trailed and led for 37:55. VCU did not hold a lead in the game.
Ally Sweeney scored 14 of her 27 in the fourth quarter, going 5-for-5 from the field (including 2-for-2 from three) in the final 10 minutes.
Richmond won the glass 32-30 and finished with 13 second-chance points.

Up Next
Richmond continues its road slate Wednesday at Saint Louis with an 8 p.m. ET tipoff before returning home to host George Mason on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. inside the Robins Center for the Breast Cancer Awareness Game presented by Joyner Fine Properties.