March 13, 2009

RAMS ADVANCE TO CAA SEMIFINALS WITH 72-52 ROUT OF TRIBE
Hollingsworth, Rorie, Bachvarova, Waller all shine in quarterfinal victory over W&M
Box Score 
 
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Rust?  Not hardly.  The Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team played for the first time in nine days Friday in the quarterfinal round of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.  The Rams showed no ill effects from the layoff as they rolled to a 72-52 victory over William and Mary at JMU’s Convocation Center.
 
The victory was the 26th in 31 games for VCU, tying a school record for victories in a season that was set last year.  But more important is the fact that it propelled the Rams into Saturday’s semifinal round.   VCU will play at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of Friday’s last quarterfinal between JMU and Northeastern.    Drexel and 17-time defending champion Old Dominion play in the first semifinal on Saturday at noon.
 
Semifinal winners meet at 3:30 p.m. Sunday for the CAA title and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
“Coming into the game, two of the things we really focused on were really getting after them defensively and rebounding the basketball,” VCU Head Coach Beth Cunningham said.  “I thought we came out with a great sense of urgency, especially in that first half.   I just thought we came out and played with a focus.
 
“It’s always hard in that first game, that first 20 minutes.  There’s so much anticipation. I was really proud of the way the kids came out and just took care of business right from the beginning.”
 
William and Mary inched ahead 8-7 on a basket by Tiffany Benson five minutes into the game.  But the Rams quickly ended any thoughts the Tribe had of making it a tight contest.  VCU scored 15 of the next 17 points and kept pouring it on until halftime.  At the break, the Rams led 43-18.
 
The Tribe wasn’t done.  It scored the first 13 points of the second half.  But VCU righted itself just as quickly – the Rams’ lead never got under 20 points in the final 11:28 of the game.
 
As is often the case when the Rams have a strong show, the wealth was spread.  Senior Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va.) (right) led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds. It was her seventh straight double-double, her 17th of the season and the 54th of her career.
 
Junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C.) (top) contributed 16 points and eight rebounds.  Junior Kita Waller (Gainesville, Ga.) had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.  Senior Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria) had 13 points on 5-7 shooting.
 
VCU had a 43-34 edge on the boards and a 26-13 there in the first half.  The Rams’ defense limited the Tribe to 35.7 percent shooting from the floor.
 
“We talked at halftime about not relaxing but I think that’s what happened.  We came out, we relaxed,” Cunningham said.   “Give William and Mary credit.  They came out with a sense of urgency and put some pressure on us.  The run was much longer than I wanted but eventually we figured it out there.”