Still young, Rams must mature while on the road
fter two impressive home wins to open the season, the young VCU women’s basketball team has struggled to find the same success on the road, dropping three of the last four matches during a six-game road trip.
Alonzo Small
Sports Editor
After two impressive home wins to open the season, the young VCU women’s basketball team has struggled to find the same success on the road, dropping three of the last four matches during a six-game road trip.
Since opening night, the Rams have played six games in 13 days. One month into the 2014-15 campaign, head coach Beth O’Boyle’s team has persevered, as the Rams are .500 entering the month of December with a 3-3 record. The three losses all occurred on the road, with the most recent defeats stemming from close encounters against the College of William & Mary on Nov. 26, losing 56-48, and Ohio State University three days prior on Nov. 23, losing 96-86.
Against in-state rivals W&M, the game featured five different lead changes with the score tied on six different occasions. Entering the half, the Tribe held a seven-point advantage against the Rams, 29-22. The Rams scored seven unanswered to tie the game 29-29 in the opening minutes of the second half, the first of four second-half ties. Both teams proved resilient as the game would not be decided until the final minutes of play. A layup by sophomore forward Camille Calhoun pulled the Rams even with the Tribe 38-38 with 10 minutes and 34 seconds left to play in the game. Eventually W&M would respond with a 13-2 run in the final eight minutes of the game to deny the Rams a victory to end the month of November.
Mistakes for the Rams was evident throughout as 12 of 14 players committed turnovers for the Rams. The team committed 32 turnovers overall, which led to 27 points for the Tribe.
“Williams & Mary is a tough team and unfortunately we just didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball,” O’Boyle said. “We can’t make that many mistakes and expect to win.”
Shooting was also a cause for concern. VCU shot 19-61 from the floor (31.1 percent) and made only 6-19 from the three-point line (31.6 percent). Sophomore guard Isis Thorpe was the only player for VCU in double-figures, scoring 12 for the second time in three games.
Three days prior, the Rams played against Big-10 conference opponent Ohio State in a game that was viewed by many as a measuring stick of just how much unlimited potential O’Boyle’s team possesses.
Falling behind 5-0 in the early minutes, a three-pointer by sophomore guard Keira Robinson would set the tempo for the remainder of the game. Against the Buckeyes, Robinson would have her best game of the season thus far, going five of six from the three-point line and registering 18 points.
Entering the break, the Rams trailed by nine points, 52-43.
Coming out of the break, the Rams would close the gap in the opening minutes. A layup up by freshman forward Curteeona Brelove at the 17 minute and 17 seconds mark brought the game within one, 52-51. A layup made by Ohio State player Ameryst Alston would ensure the Buckeyes kept the lead. A three-point shot by sophomore guard Ashley Pegram would keep the Rams close, only trailing by three, 56-53. However, shortly thereafter the Buckeyes would begin to pull away from the Rams en route to a 10-point victory, 96-86.
The 86 points was the most VCU has scored against a Big-10 conference program. Starters Robinson and sophomore guard Monnazjea Finney-Smith and reserve Pegram finished the game in double figures.
Through six games, Pegram’s 11.8 PPG has led the team. The Richmond, Virginia native is shooting over 40 percent from the floor and leads the team in three-point field goals, making 46 percent (6-13) of shots beyond the arc. Pegram’s 25 points against Ohio State was a career-high.
Still early in the season, the Rams may still be searching for their identity, and that’s to be expected with a new head coach.
Although the Rams have forced 123 turnovers with the man-to-man defense, O’Boyle’s team has accumulated 119 turnovers of their own. To make a deep run, O’Boyle’s team will have to mature fairly quickly and drastically eliminate the mistakes on the floor. The Rams must also figure out a way to turn the close road games into wins down the stretch to be serious contenders in the Atlantic 10 conference. The recent response to the loss suggests O’Boyle is prepared to instill the winning lessons to her players.
“We’re a young team and we’ll need to use this as a good teaching point moving forward” O’Boyle
The Rams finish their six-game road haul against University of North Carolina Wilmington on Dec. 2 and Old Dominion University on Dec. 5. The Rams will then return to the Siegel Center for the first time in almost a month to play University of North Carolina Greensboro on Dec. 14.