Jaguars hand women’s basketball their second loss
Purdue University Indianapolis handed the Rams their second home loss of the season last Tuesday, in a closely contended match that ended 71-62 in overtime.
Senior guard and team captain Keira Robinson was once again the standout performer for the Rams, filling out the stat sheet with 19 points, three assists, two steals and a block.
Sophomore forward Sandra Skinner and junior forward Curteeona Brelove also made sizeable contributions on the boards, hauling in six rebounds apiece and scoring nine and 11 points, respectively.
While Skinner was the benefactor of efficient shooting, going 4-for-5 from the field, it was ultimately VCU’s sub-standard shooting clip that allowed the Jaguars to pull ahead.
The Rams shot under 34 percent from the field to the Jaguars 40.7 percent, and IUPUI also held a significant advantage from beyond the arc, shooting a 44 percent clip from three to VCU’s paltry 26.8 percent.
The Rams struggled coming out of the gates Tuesday, as the visiting Jaguars held the lead for the first 9:51 seconds of action. IUPUI had an 11-8 advantage with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter when VCU sparked a 7-0 run to take a 15-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second period was likewise back and forth. With 5:04 remaining in the period, the Jaguars’ Caitlyn Tolen tied up the game with a layup, but the Rams closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run and went into halftime with a 24-18 advantage.
In the third quarter, the Jaguars slowly began chipping away piece-by-piece at the Rams’ lead. VCU held a three-point advantage heading into what would be a thrilling fourth quarter of play.
During the final period of regulation, the lead changed hands seven times as both teams fought to pull ahead of their opponent. IUPUI’s Danielle Lawrence scored five straight points to put the visitors up three with just 21 seconds left on the clock.
With less than five seconds remaining in regulation, Robinson let loose from beyond the arc and drained a crucial three to make things all square and force overtime.
Unfortunately for the Rams, IUPUI started off the overtime period with the hot hand.
The Jaguars nailed three consecutive shots from deep behind the arc to take an early nine-point advantage in the first two minutes of overtime. That would be the difference in the end, and IUPUI closed out overtime with the 71-62 victory.
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Nick Versaw, Contributing Writer
PHOTO EDITOR
Julie Tripp
Julie is a senior studying photography with a minor in media studies. This is her third year working with the CT, and she spent last summer interning for Richmond Magazine. Last semester, Julie spent a semester abroad studying photography at The University of the West of England. After Julie graduates she plans on pursuing a career as a photojournalist for print and online publications.
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