In front of a season-high crowd of 3,462, the University of Richmond women’s basketball team defeated crosstown rival VCU, 75-42, Sunday afternoon. The win marked Richmond’s fifth straight and its largest margin of victory over the Rams since December 2001. The Spiders improved to 15-5 overall and 6-1 in Atlantic 10 Conference play, while VCU fell to 9-10 and 3-4 in the A-10.

  

  

Richmond opened the game strong, with Rachel Ullstrom scoring the first basket and the Spiders going on an 8-0 run. VCU briefly cut into the lead, but Katie Hill sparked a 7-0 run and Faith Alston added a three-pointer to push the lead to 15-2. After a layup by VCU, Hill completed a hoop-and-harm to extend Richmond’s advantage to 18-4. Sweeney’s 3-pointer at the buzzer ended the first quarter with Richmond ahead 21-7.

In the second quarter, Ullstrom hit three consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 9-0 run for a 35-9 lead. VCU responded with four points, but Hill’s triple and contributions from Ullstrom and Anna Camden pushed the lead to 41-11. Richmond went into halftime up 44-15.

The Rams came out strong in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 25, but Richmond answered with back-to-back layups from Alston and Hill to maintain a comfortable lead. The Spiders ended the third quarter with a 59-26 advantage.