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RAMS TRAVEL TO LIBERTY TO TAKE ON FLAMES IN PRESEASON WNIT OPENER
Black and Gold looking to extend streak of 16 straight November victories
11-13-08
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RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team has been gaining respect around the Commonwealth over the past several seasons.

The Rams will get a chance to silence any doubters right away as VCU travels west to Lynchburg, Va. to take on the Liberty Flames in the first round of the Preseason WNIT on Friday night at the Vines Center.

”I have a great deal of respect for Carey Green and the job he has done at Liberty,” Head Coach Beth Cunningham (left). “They have had tremendous success under his direction and have proven to be among the nation’s best year in and year out as they are consistently a NCAA tournament team.”

Coming off the best season in school history, VCU makes its first appearance in the Preseason WNIT as the early-season tournament was not around after the Rams only other post-season trip in 1994-95.

“This is a great opportunity for our team and program to have a chance to play three games against teams that are coming off post-season berths from a year ago and programs that have been on the national map and have had a great deal of success,” Cunningham said. “It's going to be a big test for our team to see where we are at this point in the season.”

The Black and Gold proved just how deep it is this season in a 93-48 exhibition victory over Virginia Union last Friday.

Junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C.) and D’Andra Moss (Atlanta, Ga.) led the way with 19 points a piece, while six other players chipped in at least six points for the Rams.

Rorie and Moss join a pair of seniors will be key leaders on a youthful, but talent-laden roster.

One of those key leaders will be Second Team All-CAA honoree Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va.), who is returning from an Achilles injury that kept her out for most of the second half of the last season. Hollingsworth, who is the school’s leader in double-doubles with 37, averaged 13.3 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per outing in 23 games last year.

Joining Hollingsworth as the only seniors on the squad is Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria) (right), who averaged 8.1 points per game and knocked down 34 three-pointers in her first campaign with VCU.

The Rams and Flames last met in Cunningham’s first season, 2003-04, with the Flames taking away a 62-43 home victory. Overall, VCU owns a 21-9 advantage in the head-to-head series.

VCUathletics.com got a chance to sit down and talk to Cunningham as the team prepares to travel to Lynchburg to take on Liberty:

VCUathletics.com: What do you see as the biggest positives for playing in a tournament such as the Preseason WNIT?

Cunningham: Certainly we were extremely excited a year ago when the WNIT selected us as one of 16 teams in the country to participate in their tournament. This is a great opportunity for our team and program to have a chance to play three games against teams that are coming off post-season berths from a year ago and programs that have been on the national map and have had a great deal of success. It's going to be a big test for our team to see where we are at this point in the season.

VCUathletics.com: Liberty has become a pretty good program in recent history, what have you seen from them in scouting that will be a big threat?

Cunningham: I expect this year’s team at Liberty to be no different. With this being both of our first games of the year, it's difficult to know exactly what to expect with this year’s team. The only thing we have to go off of is information we have from last year. I do know they have an outstanding senior class and a number of newcomers and I would anticipate them helping immediately.
This is a very versatile team with great size and experience. I expect them to be very efficient offensively and present different match-up situations--this will be a big test for us defensively and on the boards.

VCUathletics.com: You mentioned some nagging injuries prior to the Union exhibition, how have the injuries been coming along?

Cunningham: We've had some kids out due to different injuries. Nicole Stevens, our trainer, has done an outstanding job taking care of the situations we have had and doing her best to get them out there on the floor for us. However, in most cases, it just takes time. And of course as the season gets closer and closer there never seems to be enough time!

VCUathletics.com: It seemed that depth may become of the biggest strengths of this year’s team, how does having at least eight-nine contributors change or aid you and your coaching staff?

Cunningham: Depth on any team is critical. If we can stay healthy and continue to develop individually and as a team, I think our depth could be one of our biggest strengths.

VCUathletics.com: The newcomers really seemed to shine against Union, can you talk about just how good they are as a group?

Cunningham: We are excited about the new kids we have in our program and feel that they have a bright future ahead of them here at VCU. However, there is no substitute for experience. I think one of the positives with some of our injury issues has been that it has put our new kids in a situation where they are beginning to get those experiences. As a coaching staff, we have seen a great deal of growth in these kids already. They will be a critical piece on this year’s team.

VCUathletics.com: La’Tavia [Rorie] and D’Andra [Moss] really seem to be stepping into leadership roles, can you talk about both of them and their progression from last year?

Cunningham: Both D and Tavia have grown tremendously since a year ago. They have both always been two kids that have a real passion for playing this game and for this team. They have been two of the most committed players we have ever had in our program and I think what we are seeing now is the hard work and commitment they have made to improve individually so that they to continue to push this team and program forward.