Rams blow out Panthers

Juniors La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C./Harding University H.S.) and D’Andra Moss (Atlanta/Norcross) each scored 19 points in a 93-48 victory over Virginia Union this past Friday night.

Even though the Rams scored 93 points, it was defense and rebounding that were the key to victory. The Rams defense forced the Panthers into committing 25 turnovers. Most of the turnovers were caused by the Rams jumping into passing lanes and coming up with 13 steals. The rest were caused by man-to-man defense and forcing the Panthers into traveling violations and offensive fouls. VCU’s defense held Union to 25.8 percent (16-62) from the field. The Rams also came up with eight blocks. VCU dominated the glass, grabbing 23 more rebounds than the Panthers.

The Rams jumped on the Panthers quickly in the first half. VCU started the game on a 9-0 run sparked by the defense, which held the Panthers scoreless for the first four minutes. With about 17 minutes left in the first half, Rorie intercepted a Union pass and made a layup at the other end. After the Rorie layup, Union called a timeout to slow the VCU run. After the timeout, the Panthers were finally able to score on a layup off of a VCU turnover.

After Union scored, VCU got back to playing good defense. The Rams forced the Panthers into taking bad shots which the Rams were able to convert into points.

With about 12 minutes to go, Union’s Tanzania Bridgett missed a wild jumper. Rorie got the rebound and hit Moss streaking down court for the layup to give VCU a 15-4 lead.

With about nine minutes left in the half, senior Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake/Great Bridge) made a steal which led to another Rorie layup. On Union’s next possession, the Panthers missed a 3-pointer, senior Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria/Daytona Beach C.C.) got the rebound and hit Rorie with an outlet pass for another layup, giving VCU a 23-8 lead and forcing the Panthers to take another timeout.

About five minutes later, a Chelsea Snyder (Greendell, N.J./Newton) block down low led to a Bachvarova 3-pointer in the corner, capping an 8-0 VCU run. VCU went into halftime with a 43-21 lead.

The second half was a mirror image of the first half. The Rams’ defense and ability to rebound held the Panthers in check. The defense held the Panthers scoreless for a five-minute stretch in the second half. During that stretch, VCU scored 19 unanswered points en route to a 93-48 win.

VCU Head Coach Beth Cunningham liked what she saw on the floor.

“I was pleased with the game. I was happy with the depth and the versatility that we showed,” she said.
She also credited practice for the way the Rams played defense.

“We spent a lot of time playing tough man-to-man defense. We expect it to show up every night,” Cunningham said.