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RAMS TRAVEL ACROSS TOWN TO TAKE ON UNBEATEN SPIDERS
Black and Gold look to win fourth straight
December 3, 2008
RICHMOND, Va. – City bragging rights are up for grabs on Wednesday night as the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team travels across town to take on the Spiders of the University of Richmond in a 7 p.m. contest at the Robins Center.
Both schools have jumped out to a great start with the Rams holding a 4-1 mark, with the only loss to fourth-ranked North Carolina, and the Spiders are unbeaten in 2008-2009 at 6-0.
The rivalry has been a heated one with the Black and Gold having a slight 33-29 advantage in the series that started in 1968-69. VCU has posted wins in two of the last three meetings, including a 60-51 victory at the Siegel Center last year.
The Rams is fresh off a 67-53 road win at Albany on Saturday afternoon where senior Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va.) (left) notched her second straight double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while sophomore Jessica Taylor (Woodbridge, Va.) chipped in a career-high 11 points.
Hollingsworth has not missed a beat after missing the end of last year with an Achilles injury and leads the team with 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per outing. Junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C.) has been outstanding recently averaging 15.7 ppg in her last three contests.
The Spiders had a great Thanksgiving break posting two wins to capture the Double Tree Classic Crown, hosted by Tennessee-Chattanooga. UR posted a 53-48 win over Troy in the first round and then dominated the host school 64-46 in the championship game. Senior Johanna McKnight, junior Danielle Bell and sophomore Brittani Shells were all named to the All-Tournament team, with Shells earning MVP honors. Shells leads the Spiders in scoring at 15.8 points per game.
VCUathletics.com got a chance to sit down and talk to Head Coach Beth Cunningham before the big cross-town showdown:
VCUathletics.com: Obviously a big rivalry game with UR, what does this game mean to the players and your coaching staff?
Cunningham: For obvious reasons the UR game is always a rivalry game. But at the same time, it's just like all the other games we have played so far. Another great test and big challenge for our basketball team. Richmond is hot right now. They are undefeated, playing very well, and playing with a lot confidence. I expect it to be an exciting basketball game.
VCUathletics.com: 'Q' continues to be a force on the glass and on the scoreboard, what characteristic would you say separates her as one of the greats?
Cunningham: Q has proven over the years, whether it was graduating high school at age 15 or on the basketball court, that if she makes up her mind to do something, she can accomplish anything. She is unique in that she is a very driven, goal oriented person with so many God given talents. She has worked hard over the years to try to maximize the areas that have little to do with talent--the intangibles as I call them--to go along with that talent. And that has to continue to be her challenge in order to maximize the God given talents that she does have. If she will continue to push herself to those limits, she has the capability of leading this team to a really special year in addition to it being a great 5 years in our program. 
VCUathletics.com: One player that seems to quietly put up close to double-digits every game is Kita Waller (Gainesville, Ga.) (right). What does she possess that enables her to consistently be a producer for the squad?
Cunningham: Kita is valuable in many different areas for our team. She does so many things for this team. Whether it's her scoring, rebounding, defense, or a lot of things that don't always show up on the stat sheet either. She can play a number of different positions on the floor for us which gives us a lot of versatility with our line-up. She is consistent in her approach to the game whether it's practice or a game--every day. She is someone we can count on day in and day out. She shows up with the same effort and intensity and brings a voice to our team every day. Those qualities are immeasurable.
VCUathletics.com: Tavia has really seemed to come alive after a tough first two games. What adjustments did she make after those first two games to have helped in her recent success?
Cunningham: Tavia has played well these last couple of games. In particular, against Tulane and East Carolina. At Albany she was in foul trouble but I thought when she was in there she really battled and made things happen for us. She is a kid that is always looking to get better and often takes it upon herself to try to keep improving whether it's coming in to watch film or getting in the gym and getting extra shots up. I think she's done a great job these last few games of attacking on the offensive end of the floor while not forcing things, being patient and letting the offense come to her.
VCUathletics.com: Your only five games in and sit at 4-1, now I know coaches are always looking for ways to get better. What are some of the areas that you would like to see improve that fans may not notice?
Cunningham: We are always looking for ways to get better as a team. It's still very early in the season, but I really like the progress we have made to this point. We all feel we have a lot of room to continue to get better though too. That's the exciting part. This is going to be a really fun team to watch grow throughout the season. We will be a team that will continue to get better and better the more we get to practice and play. We will continue to focus every day on our defense, our offensive execution, and rebounding.
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