2023–24 Richmond Spiders women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Richmond Spiders women's basketball team represented the University of Richmond during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Spiders, led by fifth-year head coach Aaron Roussell, played their home games at the Robins Center and were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

2023–24 Richmond Spiders women's basketball
Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	29–6 (16–2 A-10)
Head coach	Aaron Roussell (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Jeanine Radice Brittany Pinkney Ariel Stephenson Alex Louin John Studer
Home arena	Robins Center
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Atlantic 10 women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Richmond †	16	–	2		.889			29	–	6		.829
VCU	15	–	3		.833			26	–	6		.813
Saint Joseph's	15	–	3		.833			28	–	6		.824
George Mason	14	–	4		.778			23	–	8		.742
Duquesne	13	–	5		.722			21	–	13		.618
Rhode Island	10	–	8		.556			21	–	14		.600
Saint Louis	9	–	9		.500			22	–	18		.550
Davidson*	8	–	10		.444			18	–	8		.692
Loyola Chicago	8	–	10		.444			15	–	16		.484
Fordham	8	–	10		.444			12	–	17		.414
George Washington	6	–	12		.333			13	–	18		.419
Dayton	5	–	13		.278			12	–	19		.387
La Salle	5	–	13		.278			8	–	22		.267
UMass	2	–	16		.111			5	–	27		.156
St. Bonaventure	1	–	17		.056			4	–	26		.133
† 2024 A10 tournament winner * Season cancelled on March 1, 2024.

Richmond went undefeated at home en route to the Atlantic 10 regular-season conference and A-10 Tournament titles. The team qualified for its fourth-ever NCAA tournament and first since 2005, earning a #10 seed and a rematch with against Duke, who beat the Spiders by 30 in the season opener. In the NCAA Tournament, Richmond raced out to a 37–28 halftime lead, before fading in the second half to drop the game 72–61.^[1]

Previous season

The Spiders finished the 2022–23 season with a record of 21–11, 8–6 in A-10 play to finish in fifth place. In the A-10 women's tournament, they received a first-round bye before defeating No. 12 seed Dayton in the second round and No. 4 seed Fordham in the quarterfinals.^[2][3] The Spiders ultimately fell to No. 1 seed Massachusetts in the semifinals.^[4]

The Spiders then received an at-large invitation to the 2023 WNIT, where they defeated Penn in the first round before being eliminated by conference foe Rhode Island in the second round.^[5][6]

Roster

2023–24 Richmond Spiders women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Laren VanArsdale 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m) GS Hillgrove Hampton Powder Springs, GA G 1 Grace Townsend 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Sr James River Midlothian, VA F 2 Anna Camden  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) GS Shipley School Penn State Downingtown, PA F 4 Jada Green 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So St. Thomas Aquinas High School Parkland, FL F 10 Melissa Mwanza 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Life Christian Academy Harare, Zimbabwe G 11 Torin Rogers 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Murphy Brasstown, NC G 14 Ally Sweeney 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Sparta Sparta, NJ F 20 Addie Budnik 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Highland Park Highland Park, IL G 21 Kylee Lewandowski 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr North Catholic Pittsburgh, PA G 22 Rachel Ullstrom 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Marianapolis Prep Auburn, MA F 23 Courtney Swider 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr Tabor Academy Portsmouth, RI F 24 Faye Parker 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) GS Tabor Academy Penn Swampscott, MA G 25 Katie Hill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Saint John Vianney Colts Neck, NJ G 32 Siobhan Ryan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Sacred Heart Buffalo, NY F 44 Maggie Doogan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Cardinal O'Hara High School Broomall, PA	Head coach Aaron Roussell (Iowa) Assistant coach(es) Jeanine Radice (Fordham) Brittany Pinkney (VCU) Ariel Stephenson (Wake Forest) Alex Louin (Villanova) John Studer (Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 15, 2023

Schedule

Richmond's 2023–24 non-conference schedule features 13 games, including a trio of games in the Drake Thanksgiving Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa, and another pair in the Cherokee Invitational in Cherokee, North Carolina.^[7]

In the Atlantic 10 portion of the schedule, Richmond is scheduled to play a total of 18 games, including both home and away games against Duquesne, George Washington, Rhode Island, and VCU. In addition, Richmond is scheduled to host Dayton, Fordham, La Salle, Loyola Chicago, and Massachusetts, while the Spiders will travel to Davidson, George Mason, Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis, and St. Bonaventure.^[8]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 11:00 am, ACCNX		at Duke	L 53–83	0–1	17 – Budnik	6 – Budnik	3 – Hill	Cameron Indoor Stadium (1,864) Durham, NC
November 12, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Delaware State	W 105–44	1–1	15 – Ryan	5 – Tied	8 – Townsend	Robins Center (909) Richmond, VA
November 15, 2023* 11:00 am, ESPN+		at Gardner–Webb	W 80–53	2–1	25 – Doogan	10 – Doogan	8 – Townsend	Paul Porter Arena (2,167) Boiling Springs, NC
November 18, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		American	W 76–44	3–1	20 – Ryan	11 – Budnik	3 – Tied	Robins Center (410) Richmond, VA
November 24, 2023* 5:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Maine Drake Thanksgiving Invitational	W 77–43	4–1	27 – Doogan	8 – Tied	3 – Tied	Knapp Center (1,734) Des Moines, IA
November 25, 2023* 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake Drake Thanksgiving Invitational	W 74–66	5–1	17 – Budnik	7 – Tied	7 – Townsend	Knapp Center (1,861) Des Moines, IA
November 26, 2023* 12:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Louisiana Tech Drake Thanksgiving Invitational	W 83–56	6–1	21 – Doogan	6 – Doogan	6 – Budnik	Knapp Center (580) Des Moines, IA
November 30, 2023* 7:00 pm, FloHoops		at Villanova	L 57–67	6–2	18 – Doogan	8 – Townsend	6 – Towsend	Finneran Pavilion (2,241) Villanova, PA
December 3, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Le Moyne	W 69–40	7–2	18 – Doogan	7 – Budnik	5 – Townsend	Robins Center (478) Richmond, VA
December 10, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Appalachian State	W 80–77 OT	8–2	28 – Doogan	8 – Ullstrom	3 – Tied	Robins Center (1,395) Richmond, VA
December 16, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Liberty	W 99–73	9–2	22 – Doogan	7 – Ullstrom	5 – Tied	Robins Center (747) Richmond, VA
December 20, 2023* 9:30 pm, BallerTV		vs. Michigan State Cherokee Invitational	L 76–83	9–3	17 – Budnik	7 – Townsend	7 – Townsend	Harrah's Cherokee (302) Cherokee, NC
December 21, 2023* 7:00 pm, BallerTV		vs. Chattanooga Cherokee Invitational	W 64–60	10–3	17 – Doogan	7 – Doogan	6 – Budnik	Harrah's Cherokee (422) Cherokee, NC
Atlantic 10 regular season
December 30, 2023 noon, ESPN+/Monumental		at George Washington	W 70–66	11–3 (1–0)	26 – Townsend	4 – Tied	2 – Tied	Charles E. Smith Center (284) Washington, D.C.
January 3, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+/MASN		VCU Capital City Classic	W 72–65	12–3 (2–0)	21 – Townsend	7 – Doogan	8 – Doogan	Robins Center (1,226) Richmond, VA
January 6, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Joseph's	W 64–59	13–3 (3–0)	16 – Tied	7 – Tied	6 – Townsend	Hagan Arena (650) Philadelphia, PA
January 10, 2024 11:00 am, ESPN+		UMass	W 79–65	14–3 (4–0)	26 – Ullstrom	6 – Ullstrom	7 – Townsend	Robins Center (1,904) Richmond, VA
January 14, 2024 noon, CBSSN		Rhode Island	W 71–67	15–3 (5–0)	26 – Townsend	8 – Doogan	3 – Tied	Robins Center (1,273) Richmond, VA
January 17, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Davidson	W 59–54	16–3 (6–0)	15 – Townsend	8 – Tied	4 – Townsend	John M. Belk Arena (712) Davidson, NC
January 20, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Dayton	W 72–39	17–3 (7–0)	21 – Doogan	9 – Ullstrom	5 – Doogan	Robins Center (1,956) Richmond, VA
January 24, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Duquesne	L 59–72	17–4 (7–1)	13 – Ryan	7 – Townsend	5 – Townsend	UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (791) Pittsburgh, PA
January 28, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Louis	W 72–61	18–4 (8–1)	21 – Budnik	10 – Hill	7 – Townsend	Chaifetz Arena (1,112) St. Louis, MO
February 3, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Fordham	W 79–60	19–4 (9–1)	18 – Ullstrom	7 – Townsend	6 – Townsend	Robins Center (1,407) Richmond, VA
February 7, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Rhode Island	W 68–49	20–4 (10–1)	14 – Ryan	6 – Budnik	6 – Hill	Ryan Center (1,502) Kingston, RI
February 11, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		George Washington	W 83–61	21–4 (11–1)	24 – Ullstrom	6 – Townsend	6 – Townsend	Robins Center (2,437) Richmond, VA
February 14, 2024 6:00 pm, NBC Sports App		at VCU Capital City Classic	W 65–58	22–4 (12–1)	23 – Townsend	7 – Doogan	4 – Townsend	Siegel Center (854) Richmond, VA
February 17, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Loyola Chicago	W 75–71	23–4 (13–1)	20 – Doogan	8 – Tied	6 – Townsend	Robins Center (1,570) Richmond, VA
February 21, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		La Salle	W 74–54	24–4 (14–1)	20 – Ullstrom	9 – Budnik	6 – Townsend	Robins Center (832) Richmond, VA
February 24, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at George Mason	L 76–82 OT	24–5 (14–2)	20 – Doogan	11 – Doogan	9 – Townsend	EagleBank Arena (2,457) Fairfax, VA
February 28, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Duquesne	W 90–74	25–5 (15–2)	19 – Townsend	6 – Doogan	6 – Tied	Robins Center (1,007) Richmond, VA
March 2, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at St. Bonaventure	W 61–46	26–5 (16–2)	19 – Doogan	7 – Budnik	3 – Budnik	Reilly Center (225) St. Bonaventure, NY
Atlantic 10 Tournament
March 8, 2024 11:00 am, ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) Loyola Chicago Quarterfinals	W 70–54	27–5	18 – Budnik	7 – Ullstrom	9 – Townsend	Henrico Sports & Events Center (3,556) Glen Allen, VA
March 9, 2024 11:00 am, CBSSN	(1)	vs. (5) Duquesne Semifinals	W 80–66	28–5	22 – Budnik	8 – Doogan	8 – Townsend	Henrico Sports & Events Center (2,271) Glen Allen, VA
March 10, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN2	(1)	vs. (6) Rhode Island Championship	W 65–51	29–5	18 – Doogan	9 – Hill	5 – Townsend	Henrico Sports & Events Center (3,089) Glen Allen, VA
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2024* 2:30 pm, ESPNews	(10 P3)	vs. (7 P3) Duke First round	L 61–72	29–6	18 – Townsend	7 – Doogan	8 – Townsend	Value City Arena  Columbus, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source:^[9]

Rankings

See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	—
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV