Women’s basketball looks to depth, efficiency in win vs. Drexel

Jim Swing
Assistant Sports Editor

Efficiency is essential.

That’s the thought that VCU women’s basketball head coach Beth Cunningham instilled in her team Sunday afternoon as the Rams shot just over 56 percent en route to a 69-65 victory over the Drexel Dragons.

“Shot selection was good. I think we made good decisions,” Cunningham said. “Usually when we do that, we knock shots down, so I think that was probably the biggest key of just being efficient on offense. We shot about 60 percent for the game from the floor and how efficient Drexel is that was obviously critical for us.”

VCU’s leading scorer Courtney Hurt (23.6 points per game) – which ranks third in the nation – led the Rams in scoring and recorded her 15th double-double with 23 points and 20 rebounds. Hurt also found aid in teammates Sonia Johnson and Andrea Barbour, who combined for 38 points on the day.

“I love it when A.B. (Andrea Barbour) and Sonia (Johnson) can get in there,” Hurt said. “Especially when we play good teams, we’re going to need people to step up like tonight, and them helping the team out, it’s really helping me out, too, because I can relax more and know that I have other options around me to score.”

Hurt struggled early on, being held scoreless through the first nine minutes of the game, but like any pure scorer, she found her stride midway through the first half, reeling off 13 points to help the Rams take a 37-31 lead into the break.

Drexel’s offense would take charge in the second half, going on an 11-4 run generated by two 3-pointers from senior guard Jasmina Rosseel that gave the Dragons a 42-41 advantage with just over three minutes into the second half.

After nearly nine minutes of tug-of-war play that featured one tie and four lead changes, the Rams managed to attack defensively and put an end to Drexel’s offensive stride, producing a 9-0 run that gave VCU a 10-point lead, as well as the momentum throughout the remainder of the game.

“I think some of that was against their press, we were able to attack and get some baskets out of transition, which is something we really wanted to do,” Cunningham said. “I think coming into it, we knew the style that they were going to play defensively, and we just wanted to make sure we weren’t settling and just having attack mentality, so I think the points in the paint just shows a little bit of that attack mentality.”

The win ends a three-game drought for the Rams against Drexel, stemming back to the 2008-2009 season.

“Big win for us,” Cunningham said. “One of the things we talked about coming into this game was it’s been a long time since we’ve beaten Drexel, and I know Courtney (Hurt) and Jennifer Lane – our junior class – haven’t had that opportunity, so I think this was a great win for us.”

VCU will take on a two-game road stint that features the likes of UNC-Wilmington and Northeastern, two teams that the Rams found success against at home earlier in the year, defeating both by double-digits.

“It’s going to be another big game, another big week,” Cunningham said. “every game is so critical in conference play … it’s going to be a really big game for us and a really big week for us, just like every game in this conference is.”