Hollingsworth sparks Rams victory

Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake/Great Bridge)
scored 22 points – 16 in the second half – and grabbed
12 rebounds to lead VCU to its fourth victory in as many
games, 72-53 over Appalachian State Sunday afternoon at
the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

The double-double gives Hollingsworth 28 for her career,
putting her in a tie for second all time with Kristine Austgulen
and two behind leader Beth Mollerup.

VCU never trailed in the game and got out to a hot
start, as the Rams led by 10 with nine minutes to play in
the first half and by as many as 14 three times throughout
the first 20 minutes.

“When we came out, we knew it was payback for last
year,” Hollingsworth said, referring to Appalachian State’s
79-68 win last season in Boone, N.C.

Senior Krsytal Vaughn (Baltimore/Lake Clifton-Eastern)
and junior transfer Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria/
Dayton Beach C.C.) led the offensive effort. Vaughn used
her size and post moves to accumulate 12 points and five
rebounds, while Bachvarova made 4 of 6 shots from the floor,
including a three-pointer to score all 11 of her points.

Vaughn finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
However, the Mountaineers would make the Rams work
toward the end of the first half. Appalachian State closed
the half with a 17-8 run, including 11 points from leading
scorer GiGi Thomas to close down a 14-point VCU lead to
just five, 39-34. Thomas played only nine minutes in the
first half and scored all 11 points in the 7-minute stretch
that ended the first half. She finished with 20 points.

VCU made two straight baskets to start the second
half, one from Vaughn and one from Hollingsworth, to
would answer with six consecutive points to bring the score to 43-40 with 14:47.

The three-point margin was as close as the Mountaineers would get the rest of
the way. VCU held medium leads of five, six and seven points until the 8:11 mark,
when Hollingsworth scored a basket that sparked a 17-4 run to close the game.
Hollingsworth’s 16 second-half points accounted for 48 percent of VCU’s second-half
offense. Many of her points came against 6’4 Brittany Mixon. Although Hollingsworth
doesn’t often match up with players her own height during games, she was not bothered
by the size of her opponent.

“We have a lot of practice players that are guys, that are bigger and taller than me, so
it’s nothing unusual,” she said.

The Rams were able to dish out 22 assists in the win, led by senior guard LaKea Jones
(Fort Washington, Md./National Christian Academy), who had seven. The Rams finished
the game with a shooting percentage of 50.9 percent, while Appalachian State shot only
40.4 percent and also committed 18 turnovers. However, VCU had to take the bad with
the good, as it also committed 22 turnovers.

“Believe it or not, we have to run for those turnovers,” Hollingsworth said. “It’s good
that we got those assists, but we have to take care of the ball.

VCU returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Greenville, N.C., to face East
Carolina. Game time is 2 p.m.

By the numbers:

Appalachian State (1-3): Randolph 2, Mixon 9, Colbert 6, Hernandez
6, Tossie 10, Thomas 20, Ramirez 0, Cunningham 0, Lake 0. Totals:
23 6-8 53. Three pointer: Thomas.

VCU (4-0): Vaughn 18, Bachvarova 11, Hollingsworth 22, Jones
5, Rorie 8, Waller 4, Moss 4, Pinkney 0. Totals: 28 14-23 72. Three
pointers: Bachvarova, Rorie.