Zach Joachim, Contributing writer
Women’s basketball split a pair of conference home games last week to remain in seventh place in the Atlantic 10 race.
Duquesne University and St. Bonaventure University visited the Stu on Sunday, Jan. 31 and Wed. Feb. 3, respectively. The Rams fell to the Dukes by a score of 71-67 and defeated the Bonnies 52-47.
The two opponents were no cupcakes. Both the Dukes and Bonnies (No. 2, 8-1) and (No. 3, 8-2) stand ahead of VCU in the Atlantic 10 standings, making both games pivotal measuring sticks in terms of tournament aspirations for Head Coach Beth O’Boyle and the Lady Rams (No. 7, 5-5).
The Sunday matinee matchup with Duquesne was a high scoring, end-to-end affair with a blistering pace from start to finish.
The Rams and Dukes remained within four points of each other throughout the first half. Duquesne held a 32-31 lead with 23 seconds remaining in the first half before senior guard Chadarryl Clay sunk a 3-pointer to give VCU a two point halftime advantage.
The Rams are 14-3 when leading at recess this season.
The second half looked much like the first — both teams fought to put together a run and gain a sizeable cushion. Junior guard GG Goodhope gave VCU a game-high five-point lead by hitting a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.
The Dukes answered with a 13-5 spurt to go ahead by four. Senior forward Adaeze Alaeze cut the lead to two, but Duquesne made a trey as the third quarter came to a close and took a five-point lead into the fourth.
VCU would come as close as two, but never regained the lead. The Dukes hit another 3-pointer with just over two minutes to play to make the deficit six. The Rams would again fight back and make it a one possession game, but were ultimately defeated 71-67.
A Wednesday night date with the Bonnies was a completely different story. Lock-down defense and poor shooting prevailed during this matchup. The Rams got to the hoop but struggled to finish in the first half, and St. Bonaventure failed to create any offense apart from star scorer Katie Healy.
Healy would lead the Bonnies in scoring on the evening with 19. She also grabbed 10 rebounds to put together a double-double. Her Bonnies took a 23-19 lead into halftime.
The game remained at a slow pace in the third quarter. The Rams began to send help on Healy, limiting her scoring opportunities, but continued to struggle offensively themselves. Junior guard Isis Thorpe connected from downtown with 3:20 to go in the quarter, cutting the deficit to two. A Keira Robinson lay-in with 1:40 on the clock gave VCU its first lead in the second half and they would hold on to a one-point advantage going into the fourth.
The Rams struggled at the free-throw line in the fourth, which kept things interesting. Alaezze and Robinson got to the rim at will however, and even some timely shooting from the Bonnies couldn’t bring them back. The Lady Rams gained a pivotal conference victory by a final score of 52-47.
“We really wanted to pick up the tempo (in the second half),” O’Boyle said. We did a great job with our motion offense, and the defensive intensity got us going in transition.”
O’Boyle and the girls have proved they can play with the best in the A-10. An upcoming four-game conference road trip could make or break their season. The Rams next play Feb. 7 at La Salle University.