Rams turn it on late, beat Tulane

Going into Friday night, the VCU Rams were looking to bounce back from a tough loss at North Carolina last Sunday. The team did just that against Tulane in a third-round consolation game of the WNIT, 63-49.

Early in the first half, the Rams appeared to be playing flat.

“They (Tulane) went out and were aggressive. We had no excuse as to why we came out slow . but we definitely did,” said senior Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake/Great Bridge).

Holingsworth scored a team-high 13 points and led the VCU charge in the second half.

Despite a tough opening half, the Rams held a slim three-point lead at the break.

“We were a little out of sync (in the first half) . which turned into offense for them. But I thought in the second half we settled down a little bit more,” said head coach Beth Cunningham.

There was little doubt the Rams were a different team in the second half. They scored the first four points of the half and went on to hold the lead until they jolted away at the 7:20 mark.

Hollingsworth scored six straight points and the team responded, outscoring Tulane 19-10 to close the game.

VCU was able to get strong performances out of juniors La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C./Harding University H.S.), who scored 12 points and D’Andra Moss (Atlanta/Norcross) with nine points and seven rebounds.

The Rams out-rebounded the Green Wave 42-33, and forced Tulane into 23 turnovers. VCU also attempted 19 more shots.

Brittany Lindsey paced the Green Wave with a game-high 17 points.

“We were more patient and had better shot selection in the second half, especially from the ten minute mark. And I think our defense created some offense for us too,” Cunningham said.

The Rams moved to 2-1 on the season with the victory and closed out the Women’s NIT with some momentum.

“It was a great tournament for us . we learned a lot from these three games, but we still have a lot of room for growth,” Cunningham said.

By the numbers

Tulane (1-2): Langford 1, Valicevic 13, Aidoo 0, Brown 8, Lindsey 17, Jackson 0, Barnes 2, Kaljo 6, Benzio 2, Slaton 0. Totals: 17 11-15 49. 3-pointers: Kaljo 2, Valicevic, Brown.

VCU (2-1): Lane 8, Bachvarova 8, Solomon 0, Taylor 7, Moss 9, Hollingsworth 13, Patterson 0, Waller 2, Rorie 12, Snyder 2, Hurt 4. Totals: 24 14-15 65. 3-pointers: Rorie, Moss, Taylor.

NOTES: The Rams are no-nonsense in November. Under Cunningham the Rams are now 18-3 in the month of November. They had a streak of 17 straight wins until it was snapped by sixth-ranked North Carolina in the 77-65 loss last Sunday in Chapel Hill.