WILMINGTON, Del. – In a game featuring 10 ties and 20 lead changes, fifth-seeded Richmond found a rhythm late as the Spiders punched their ticket to the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals, outgunning No. 12 Dayton down the stretch en route to a 71-60 victory Thursday afternoon at CHASE Fieldhouse.
All-Conference second team choice Addie Budnik compiled 20 points and eight rebounds to pace UR overall while guard Grace Townsend added 15 points and five assists. Freshman Rachel Ullstrom chimed in with her 14 points on six-of-eight shooting while All-Conference third team and All-Rookie pick Maggie Doogan posted a nine-point, 10-board effort.
“There’s a lot of confidence in this group right now,” Richmond head coach Aaron Roussell said. “Maybe more swagger than I thought this group would have. These games can go either way but it was weirdly comfortable out there, it was more conversational in the timeouts and our players were really locked in. We’ve been through a lot of battles with this group.”
The Spiders owned a 42-26 advantage in the paint and shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field.
Dayton’s Sydney Freeman earned 18 points for a second consecutive contest and added six assists as well. Arianna Smith’s double-double consisted of 15 points and 12 rebounds while both Destiny Bohanon in addition to Anyssa Jones saw their afternoon conclude with 11 points.
“Richmond made five threes for the entire game and those last two were daggers," Dayton head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter said. "We got in a little bit of scramble and a lot of mismatch. Winning your first tournament game in that space is huge, but now you know what it feels like to win and you know what it feels like to lose. In one season, there couldn't be a better setup to what they've been exposed to."
The opening period saw both Richmond and Dayton struggle from the field, as the pair both shot at a 29.4 percent (5-of-17) clip.
Despite its offensive struggles, Richmond was poised to lead after one frame until Freeman intercepted a Spiders pass and, surrounded by two players, converted a layup to tie up the contest.
The first half featured nine lead changes, but a Mariah Perez’s jumper off a Richmond turnover proved the difference on the scoreboard as the Flyers entered halftime ahead by a bucket.
Dayton’s rebounding also loomed large in the opening half, creating a seven-board separation.
There were a total of nine lead changes during the third, but Richmond fought back to a slim advantage of three points entering the final quarter.
“This time of year, it’s always going to be a fight no matter what game it is," Budnik said. “I thought that we did a really good job just staying together. We stayed really calm as well and that’s huge. We stuck to the gameplan and carried it out through the end.”
Dayton kicked off the fourth quarter with Freeman making a layup after driving to the right side of the basket, closing the gap back to just one point. The Spiders proceeded build their lead back to four on two separate occasions, but surges from UD answered both times, first with Bohanon earning a layup and second behind a three-point rom Freeman.
Both teams would be tied before Richmond's Ullstrom drained a reverse layup prior to the final media stoppage.
Down four late in the contest, Dayton came up empty on consecutive possessions, opening the door for Richmond to pull away. In spite of Bohanon helping break the Flyers break out of their funk with a corner three, UR's Townsend answered with a drive to the basket for a deuce. Freeman then converted from deep before Ullstrom replied again for the Spiders, essentially sealing the contest for Richmond
“We knew it was time to lock down and put the game away,” Townsend said. “As a team we were thinking one stop, get a rebound, one shot, limit them to one shot and go in transition and score. We executed that really well.”
Richmond advances to face No. 4 overall Fordham in the second Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinal, first tip set for at 1:30 with national broadcast on ESPN+.