WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

For the 12th time in 14 games, VCU held its
opponent to under 60 points and ranks in the top
10 in the nation for scoring defense. The Rams’
late defensive intensity stymied a Panthers rally
and earned them a 63-48 win Sunday at the Stuart
C. Siegel Center.

Krystal Vaughn (Baltimore/Lake Clifton-Eastern)
put on a clinic at the offensive end of the floor.
The senior scored 15 of her game-high 18 points
in the first half, occasionally following a missed
shot with one of eight rebounds.

Aside from Vaughn, the Rams’ lineup combined
for just 14 points in the first half and led by only
four at halftime. The team shot a lowly 32.4 percent
from the floor in the first half, which went hand in
hand with some early struggles at the other end.

“For whatever reason, in the first half, we were
missing some shots and it was affecting us at the
defensive end of the floor,” coach Beth Cunningham
said.

Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake/Great
Bridge) picked up two early fouls and was forced
to spend the first half’s final 13 minutes on the
bench.

“I thought about going back with (Hollingsworth),
but we were able to get a little bit of a
lead and felt like I could hold her to the second
half,” Cunningham said.

The lead changed hands on nearly every possession
down the stretch in the first half. Despite the
fast tempo, neither team opened up a significant
lead. Georgia State didn’t lead by more than two
throughout the game. The Panthers crippled their
chances of gaining the upper hand by being careless
with the ball and trailed at the break for the 13th
time in 14 games.

Hollingsworth came alive in the second half to
give the Rams the scoring they needed. The junior
standout netted all 13 of her points in 16 second-half
minutes and scored on an easy layup to give the
Rams their largest lead of the game, 50-31.

“You start getting some stops and come down,
knock some shots down and it certainly helps your
defense too. You start picking up momentum, and
I think that’s what we were able to do when we
stretched our lead,” Cunningham said.

In addition to Vaughn and Hollingsworth, junior
Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria/Daytona
Beach C.C.) and sophomore La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte,
N.C./Harding University H.S.) scored in
double figures with 12 and 10, respectively.

Georgia State finished the game with 25 turnovers,
made just 20 field goals and attempted only
five free throws.

VCU stretches its best start in school history
to 13-1 and has won all three of its CAA games.
Georgia State falls to 3-ll and has dropped each
of its three conference matchups. The Rams and
Panthers will face one another in a rematch on
Feb. 17 in Atlanta.

Next for VCU is a trip to Norfolk, where it will
face No. 18, Old Dominion. The Monarchs got
the best of the Rams in both contests last season,
winning by an average of 16.5 points.

Inside the numbers

Georgia State (0-3 CAA, 3-11): C.
Smith 0, McKeller 9, Rawls 10, Hollins
17, Haltiwanger 6, V. Smith 0, Harris
0, Mann 6, Young 0, Anderson 0.
Totals: 20 3-5 48. 3-pointers: Hollins 1,
Haltiwanger 2, Mann 2.

VCU (3-0 CAA, 13-1): Vaughn 18,
Bachvarova 12, Hollingsworth 13, Jones
2, Rorie 10, Patterson 0, Waller 8, Taylor
0, Moss 0, Pinkney 0. Totals: 22 14-21
63. 3-pointers: Bachvarova 2, Rorie 2,
Waller 1.