January 15, 2009

DEFENSE, BALANCED SCORING LEADS RAMS PAST TRIBE, 69-52
Four players tally double-figures in 11th straight home win
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – Stifling defensive and a balanced offensive attack led the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team to a 69-52 home victory over the Tribe of William & Mary in Colonial Athletic Association action on Thursday evening at the Siegel Center.

Four players scored in double figures for the Black and Gold led by senior Radoslava Bachvarova’s (Varna, Bulgaria) (right) 13 points. Classmate Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va.) notched her 45th career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the contest.

The victory is the ninth in the past 10 games and 11th straight at home for the Rams, who improve to 13-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play. William & Mary had its five-game winning streak snapped and fall to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in CAA action.

VCU’s defensive intensity was evident right out of the gate as the Rams held William & Mary without a field point for the first 7:00 minutes of the game.

All five starters for the Black and Gold would tally points over that span led by junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C) who knocked down five points as VCU ran out to a 15-0 advantage.

“I think we did a great job coming out right from the start with the intensity we needed,” Head Coach Beth Cunningham said. “I thought the difference in the game really came down to those first 10 minutes or so in the first half.”

Four points from Hollingsworth and a three-pointer from sophomore Jessica Taylor (Northumberland, Va.) (left) pushed VCU’s lead 24-4 with 9:23 remaining in the first half.

Kelly Heath ignited the Tribe offense on 10-0 run as William & Mary got within nine at 26-17 with just under four minutes left before halftime.

Five points from the freshmen duo of Courtney Hurt (Conyers, Ga.) and Jennifer Lane (Wichita, Kan.) capped off the end of the first half to send VCU into the locker rooms with a 39-21 lead.

The second half was a back-and-off battle with the lead never dipping below double-digits thanks to eight points from Lane and seven points from Rorie.

”Every night in this conference is going to be a dog fight and I didn’t expect anything less in this game tonight,” Cunningham said. “I thought William & Mary showed a lot of character and toughness to bounce back and really battle us after we jumped on them early.”

The defense was the story for the Black and Gold holding the Tribe to just 34.5% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc. VCU forced 25 turnovers on a season-high 15 steals, including four from junior D’Andra Moss (Atlanta, Ga.).

“The key for us is really staying focused on both the offensive and defensive side,” Cunningham said. “When we do that, we usually shoot a high percentage and end up with a win. Going back to JMU, that’s what we did for 40 minutes up there and it showed.”

Lane finished with 12 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals in a great all around effort, while Rorie was the fourth Ram in double-figures with 11 points on the evening.

Heath led all scorers with 15 points for the Tribe, while Courtney Portell added 12 points.

The victory marks the 94th career win for Cunningham, tying her with her predecessor David Glass, who was 94-105 in seven seasons at VCU.

“I’m very fortunate to be in the position I am today,” she said. “What I’ve tried to do is just every day, whether its practice, recruiting, game day or just in the office, I’ve tried to hard as I could to make this into a program that can make some noise not only in the conference but in the country. Our kids, our staff and the program are really starting to reap the rewards of a collective effort of so many people.”