Richmond women win first A-10 Tournament title; headed to NCAA tourney for 1st time since 2005

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — For the first time since 2005, the Richmond women's basketball team is headed to the NCAA tournament after winning the Atlantic 10 Championship 65-51 over Rhode Island Sunday afternoon at Henrico's Sports and Events Center.

The Spiders were led by Maggie Doogan who had a game high 18 points and was named to the All Tournament team. Teammate Addie Budnik chipped in 14 and was Tournament MVP. The Spiders raced out to a 12-4 lead to start the game, led by 16 at the half and were never seriously threatened by a Rhode Island team playing their fourth game in four days.

"We threw the first punch all three games. We were on a mission," said Budnik. "Last year, we lost in the [Atlantic 10] semis and that hurt, so we kind of knew what we needed to do."

"There were a couple of moments during time outs when I told my staff, 'I think I'm going to cry,'" added head coach Aaron Rousell, who was the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. "The way our players were playing was just incredible."

Siobhan Ryan added 14 points and Grace Townsend had 13 as the Spiders won their three tournament games by an average of 15 points. This is the program's first conference tournament title since they won the CAA back in 1991.

"I don't know if they understand the context," Rousell said. "But this is every kid's dream. "Nothing beats a team championship. It's a different relationship once you're a championship team together and I couldn't be happier for them."

The Spiders will now wait for Selection Sunday to see where they are headed in the NCAA Tournament. Sunday's win pushed their record to 29-5 which extends their program record for most victories in a season.

WATCH: Highlights from Richmond women's first A-10 Tournament title win