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RICHMOND, Virginia – Head women’s basketball coach Aaron Roussel announced Tuesday the addition of transfers Stephanie Ouderkirk, Sam Dewey and Faith Alston to the Spider’s roster ahead of the 2024-25 season.
“These new additions will complement our new freshmen and returning players to enable us to maintain our championship aspirations and standards,” Roussell said. “We had a special team that is coming off a historic season, and I know that taste for success will only strengthen next year’s squad.”
Ouderkirk, a 6-1 forward from James Madison, is coming off a sophomore Sun Belt Conference season with the Dukes. The Penn Laird, Virginia native appeared in all 35 games in 2023-24 and made 26 starts while averaging 3.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg. She finished fourth on the team in assists (71) and assists per game (2.0) and posted a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting (.600) from the field at Xavier on 11/11/23.
“Steph’s length, versatility, skill set and IQ are a great fit for our team’s needs,” Roussell said. “She can play and guard multiple positions, which will allow her to impact our team in many ways.”
Dewey, a 6-2 forward from Melrose, Mass., joins the Spider from Illinois, where she spent two seasons with the Fighting Illini. As a freshman, Dewey appeared in 13 games and had four points, three rebounds and one assist in his Illinois debut against LIU on 11/9/22. Last season, she received Academic All-Big Ten honors and scored six points on 100% shooting in Illinois’ win at Northwestern on 1/14/24.
“Sam is a great fit for our team and our style of play,” Roussell continued. “She has great size, she can really shoot the ball and she will battle defensively in the post. She reminds me of a lot of high-impact players we’ve had in the past at that position.”
Alston, a 5-7 guard from Centerville, Virginia, comes to Richmond after three standout seasons at App State. In 2023-24, Alston finished the year as the Mountaineers’ leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game, good for 49.th nationally, including 21 points against the Spiders on 10/12/23, dished out 4.7 assists per game and was third in the Sun Belt Conference in total assists (150). Alston also earned second-team All-Conference honors last season.
“The experience Faith brings to our team and her position will be huge for our program,” Roussell said. “She has all the physical tools to dominate a match, which, combined with her passion and competitive spirit, will make our team and each of her teammates better.”
Richmond is coming off a historic 2023-24 season, including a 2024 Atlantic 10 regular season title, an Atlantic 10 Championship crown, an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA DI Women’s Basketball Championship and an undefeated 14-0 record in the Robins Center. The Spiders also finished first in the A-10 in assists per game (15.5), blocks per game (5.7, 7).th nationally), field success percentage (47.3%, 12th nationally), offensive rating (73.1), three-point percentage (38.1%, 7th nationally) and winning percentage (82.9%, 16th nationally).
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