Alongside making the jump to a higher level, the 20-year-old is living in the United States' coldest city and has left behind her twin sister, Zoe, for the first time.
The 1.80m swingman - who returned home to Dunedin and played for the Otago Gold Rush over the mid-year holidays - is set to begin her second season of college basketball today.
This season is set to be a step up though.
Having transferred from Gillette College, which played at the junior college level, she is looking forward to playing in the NCAA division two.
She has been at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the past three months and things are going well.
``The last few weeks have been really encouraging for me,'' she said.
``Just moving outside my comfort zone and just stepping up a little bit more.
``The coaches have been really good in giving feedback in what I need to do to step up my game and be valuable to the team and help them out more.
``I'm feeling good, I'm feeling like I'm being pushed and developing my skills.''
There was more to the college-athlete life than just basketball though, especially in Alaska.
The temperature, for one thing, was taking some adapting to.
Yesterday was a fresh -12degC, something the locals were telling Richards was not cold.
Indeed, Fairbanks' average winter temperatures ranged from -26.1 to -31.7degC, with the coldest recorded reaching -54.4degC.
``One of the habits I need to make sure I don't do is going outside with wet hair, because it freezes,'' she said.
``Or at least cover it up. That happens quite a lot to me; I just don't touch it until it melts.''
Luckily there was little time to think about being cold.
Between studying for her business management degree, training and other basketball activities such as community work, she had a full-on schedule.
When the days were too busy, the team would fit training in at 6am - something it had done three times this week.
``It's pretty tough, to be honest with you.
``At junior college I was used to having my weekends free and having spare time.
``But I think all us these days are either studying, eating, sleeping, or playing basketball, it's our regular routine.
``It's definitely becoming more manageable; the first few weeks were the hardest.
``It's getting a lot better, it's all part of the experience, learning how to manage everything.
``It's an amazing skill to learn. It's tough, but it's good for me.''
Her twin sister, Zoe, is also in the US at Eckerd College - also a division two school - in Florida.
They had spent last year together at Gillette, although Brittany said it was the right time to split up.
Meanwhile, fellow Dunedin players Sam Timmins and Joe Cook-Green are also in action.
Timmins is entering his second season with the University of Washington, which plays in the top-flight of men's college basketball.
Cook-Green has begun his second-year at Junior College with three wins, having transferred to Eastern Arizona College.
