Richmond women's basketball beats Charlotte 83-71 in season opener on the road

Richmond women's basketball opened its season with an 83-71 win at Charlotte on Monday night at Halton Arena. Aneisha Scott scored 30 points and Ally Sweeney added 22 as the Spiders improved to 1-0, all of it on the road.

How it played out

Richmond led for 93 percent of the game and built its largest lead at 23 points. The Spiders scored 21 in the first quarter, 20 in the second and 22 in the third, while Charlotte managed 14, 16 and 18 in those periods. The 49ers outscored Richmond 23-20 in the fourth quarter, but the margin was already large.

The game had three lead changes. Charlotte's biggest lead was two points.

Scott and Sweeney lead the way

Scott shot 11-of-15 from the field, hit 3 of 4 from three and made 5 of 6 free throws in 37 minutes. She also had five rebounds and five assists, and she committed one turnover.

Sweeney went 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range, with four rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes.

Josie Fontana added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds, plus two steals and a block. Ava Persichetti scored eight points and had four assists. Arisa Ihara finished with three points and five rebounds. Rayne Wright scored six off the bench.

Shooting edge

Richmond shot 29-of-53 (55 percent) from the field and 12-of-24 (50 percent) from three. Charlotte shot 26-of-57 (46 percent) and 8-of-18 from deep. The Spiders had 19 assists to the 49ers' 10.

Richmond made 13 of 20 free throws, while Charlotte hit 11 of 14. The Spiders scored 22 fast-break points to Charlotte's 18, but the 49ers won the paint 32-24.

Turnovers were a sore spot for Richmond, which gave the ball away 18 times against 15 for Charlotte. The 49ers scored 22 points off turnovers to the Spiders' 12, and Charlotte had nine steals. Wright had five of Richmond's turnovers.

Charlotte's side

Zoe Best led the 49ers with 20 points, going 4-of-9 from three. Isis Johnson-Musah scored 18 off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting, Charish Thompson added 14, and Da'Brya Clark had 12 points and a team-best five assists. Charlotte fell to 0-1.

Attendance was 962.

Next up

Richmond returns home to face Princeton on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. ET.