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RICHMOND, Va. – Usually when the same question is asked after every game, head coaches may be bothered. Head Coach Beth Cunningham will never be upset about getting the same questions about the great balance and defense that her Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team puts on display night in and night out.
“Once again we really had great balance in nearly every category tonight and that’s been a key to our success this year,” Cunningham said. “Not only in points, rebounds and assists but also in minutes. I thought we had a lot of different kids that came in and really gave us quality minutes.” The Black & Gold keep pace with Drexel and James Madison, who also won on Thursday night, at 8-2 in conference play and an overall mark of 18-4. UNC Wilmington falls to 10-11 on the year and 4-6 in CAA action. Senior Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapake, Va.) got off to a blistering start scoring five points in the opening two minutes of the contest to give VCU a 7-2 advantage with 18:15 left in the first half. Baskets from Martha White and Sahsha Taylor helped the Seahawks get back within two at 14-12 with 12:54 showing on the first half clock. It was the Black & Gold’s game from there as it ended the first half on a 22-8 run sparked by nine points from sophomore Jessica Taylor (Northumberland, Va.) and seven points from junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C.) as VCU went into halftime with a commanding 36-18 lead. The Rams picked up where they left off in the second half with a 10-4 run out of the break capped off by a wide-open jumper from freshman Jennifer Lane (Wichita, Kan.) as VCU’s lead reached 24 at 46-22 with 16:18 remaining. The Seahawks would not go away as UNC Wilmington forced some turnovers and Kristen Hanzer capitalized with two straight jumpers to spark a 12-3 Seahawk run to bring UNC Wilmington within 15 at 49-34 with just over 10 minutes to play. VCU’s defense and rebounding would not allow them any closer holding them to just eight points over the final 10:32 to preserve the 64-42 victory.
The Rams held the Seahawks, who averaged just less than 60 points a game, to just 42 points on the night and out rebounded them by a tally of 39-26, led by junior Kita Waller’s (Gainesville, Ga.) 11 rebounds. “We knew coming into tonight what we had to do in order to win this game,” Hollingsworth said. “The game down there we didn’t own the boards and we weren’t getting defensive stops and tonight we were able to do just that.” Rorie had an outstanding all-around effort with a game-high 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Black & Gold. Hollingsworth tallied 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while senior Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria) added 10 points in the win. No Seahawk player tallied double-figures on the night, which had Taylor come off the bench to lead the way with eight points. VCU has not lost at the Siegel Center since Feb. 21st of 2008 against Old Dominion; the Rams will look to continue the home streak next Sunday against James Madison. Before that game, the Black & Gold hit the road for two straight, starting with a Sunday afternoon contest in Newark, Del. against the Fightin’ Blue Hens of the University of Delaware. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
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Once again, the Rams put on the display with three players in double-figures and forcing the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington into 23 turnovers and just 38.2% from the field. VCU picked up its 15th straight home win, 64-42, on Thursday evening at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Colonial Athletic Association action. 
“I thought our team really came out with a focus and an intensity that we look for each and every game,” Cunningham said. “We really wanted to have a defensive mindset and to hold them to 42 points and win by a significant margin on the boards, which was the key tonight.”All rights reserved.
