Spiders Fall to George Mason in Atlantic 10 Semifinals

Saturday, March 7

Richmond, Va.

1:30 p.m.

University of Richmond

26-7,15-3Atlantic 10

George Mason

23-8,16-2Atlantic 10

Richmond

George Mason

Alicia Newell dribbling in A-10 Semifinal

Spiders Fall to George Mason in Atlantic 10 Semifinals

03/07/2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HENRICO, Va. – The No. 3-seeded University of Richmond women's basketball team saw its run in the Atlantic 10 Championship come to an end Saturday afternoon with a 60-45 loss to No. 2 seed George Mason at the Henrico Sports & Events Center. With the loss, the Spiders move to 26-7 overall, while the Patriots improve to 23-8 and advance to the A-10 title game.

Richmond Starters
Sweeney, Newell, Ullstrom, Dewey, Doogan

How It Happened
Maggie Doogan opened the scoring for Richmond with a layup at the 8:34 mark. George Mason answered with a basket on the other end before Alicia Newell converted inside to give the Spiders a 4-2 lead. The Patriots tied the game at four and again at six, but Ally Sweeney answered with a layup and Rachel Ullstrom knocked down her first three-pointer of the tournament to put Richmond in front 9-6 with 3:58 left in the opening quarter. Mason trimmed the margin to one before Aneisha Scott buried a late three, sending the Spiders into the second quarter with a 12-8 advantage.

George Mason opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 16-12 lead before Sweeney ended the drought with a layup. The Patriots pushed the margin to six at 20-14 before Ullstrom knocked down another three to bring Richmond within three. After Walton made two free throws for Mason, Doogan answered with a layup, but Kennedy Harris converted a jumper in the final seconds to give the Patriots a 24-19 lead at halftime.

Doogan scored Richmond's opening basket of the third quarter, but Mason answered at the free throw line to extend its lead to five. Sweeney then connected from deep to pull the Spiders within 26-24, though Walton answered with a three on the other end. After Doogan scored again to make it 29-26, the Patriots took control with a 12-0 run fueled by back-to-back turnovers and three-point shooting, stretching the lead to 41-26. Newell helped Richmond respond with six straight points to cut the deficit to single digits, but Harris converted a late jumper and Mason carried a 43-32 lead into the fourth.

Richmond chipped away early in the final quarter, getting a free throw from Ullstrom and layups from Rayne Wright and Sweeney to cut the deficit to nine at 46-37 with 6:04 remaining. Mason answered each push, however, getting key baskets from Walton and Harris before Maliyah Johnson knocked down a three to extend the lead back to 15 at 56-41 with 3:20 to play. Doogan and Ullstrom each scored in the final three minutes, but the Spiders could not draw closer than 13 the rest of the way as the Patriots secured the semifinal win.

Notes on the Game

Maggie Doogan led Richmond with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists while adding one steal and one block.
Alicia Newell also added 10 points and six rebounds.
Ally Sweeney finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
Rachel Ullstrom totaled nine points, six rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
As a team, Richmond shot 19-of-57 (33.3 percent) from the field, 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from three-point range and 2-of-5 (40.0 percent) from the free throw line.
Richmond held George Mason to eight points in the opening quarter and carried a 12-8 lead into the second.
The Spiders cut a 15-point third-quarter deficit down to single digits late in the third and again in the fourth quarter.
Richmond finished with 39 rebounds and recorded eight assists, five steals and four blocks.
The Spiders reached the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals for the fourth straight season.
Richmond closed the year with 26 wins, marking the third straight 26-win season for the program.
Doogan scored in double figures for the 32nd time in 33 games this season.