March 14, 2009

RAMS FALL TO DUKES IN CAA SEMIFINALS
VCU will learn postseason fate on Monday night
Box Score

HARRISONBURG, VA. – It’s a waiting game now for the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team.

The Rams’ hopes of winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and automatic NCAA Tournament bid were dashed on Saturday. Second-seeded VCU dropped a 65-57 decision to No. 3 James Madison before 2,754 at JMU’s Convocation Center.

JMU and top-seeded Drexel play today at 3:30 p.m. for the title. VCU falls to 26-6 and remains hopeful it will be selected as an at-large NCAA Tournament entrant. The field will be revealed on Monday night.

“I’m confident we have more basketball to play. But this hurts. I know how much I wanted it and how much my teammates wanted it,” said senior center Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va.). “We’re going to keep our heads up.”

VCU has never played in the NCAA Tournament. It reached the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament last March.

“I told our kids: Certainly our goal was to come in the tournament and win and make things easy,” VCU Coach Beth Cunningham said. “We’re going to play somewhere. I don’t know where. I don’t know who. I know we’ll be playing more basketball.

“We’ve had a great season. We’re 26-6. I thought we were outstanding prior to even getting into conference play and we obviously did well in conference, too. Our strength of schedule is top 90. I would like to think we’re going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament. At the same time, it is out of our control at this point.”

VCU had won five straight against JMU (23-8), including an 81-48 victory at the Convocation Center earlier this season. But on this day, JMU was in control almost from the start.

The Rams took an early lead on a basket by Hollingsworth, who finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. JMU went back ahead nine seconds later on a 3-pointer by Dawn Evans (23 points) and the Dukes never trailed again.

JMU shot 43.5 percent from the floor for the game and 41.7 percent from 3-point range in the first half, when Brittany Crowell gave the Dukes a boost by hitting three straight 3-pointers. The Rams struggled from the floor all game, hitting just 32.9 percent of their shots.

Junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C.) had 18 points and 10 rebounds for VCU. Junior Kita Waller (Gainesville, Ga.) added 11 points. Freshman Jennifer Lane (Wichita, Kan.) had seven assists.

“We’re certainly disappointed,” Cunningham said. “We came up on the short end of the stick. Give JMU credit. They played outstanding. They were too comfortable in their own gym all night. Their kids came out, stepped up, hit 3s, knocked down shots, made plays. Tonight, they were flat out better than us.”