The Rams won their second straight game Saturday afternoon in the Bronx as they knocked off conference foe Fordham 61-58 to jump back above .500 for the first time in two weeks.
VCU was once again led by senior guards Isis Thorpe, Mooriah Rowser and Kiera Robinson, as the backcourt trio combined for 44 points on the night.
Rowser tied her season-high with 17 points to lead all scorers and Thorpe added 15 on 3-for-4 shooting from deep.
Saturday marked another significant milestone for Robinson. After jumping to fourth on VCU’s all-time steals list Wednesday, the Columbia, South Carolina native rounded out the stat sheet once again with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, marking her second double-double in her last three games. In addition, her three-pointer just prior to halftime helped Robinson eclipse the 1,000 career point threshold as a Ram.
Rallying behind Robinson’s efficient outing, VCU’s habit of having a hot hand offensively continued, shooting over 45 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep. In addition, the Rams won both the rebounding and turnover battles through a tenacious defensive performance.
Although VCU dominated much of the stat sheet, Saturday’s game had no shortage of action, with the lead changing hands nearly a dozen times.
Fordham jumped out to an early lead after an 8-1 run, giving the home team a 17-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
However, VCU responded by reeling off a run of their own. After falling behind 32-16 with just under three minutes left in the first half, Thorpe nailed a jumper sparking a 16-0 VCU run to tie the game up with 8:46 left in the third. The Black and Gold outscored Fordham 22-11 in the third quarter to take a 46-43 lead heading into the game’s final period.
Fordham refused to go down without a fight. With just under four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, Fordham’s G’mrice Davis’ jump shot gave the home team a 53-49 advantage. They held the lead until, with just 22 seconds left on the clock, a Robinson jumpshot returned the advantage to VCU, ultimately handing the Black and Gold their second straight victory.
Rhode Island (W, 68-57)
The VCU women’s basketball team bounced back from a three game losing streak Wednesday night, defeating the visiting University of Rhode Island 68-57 to improve to 10-10 on the season.
Coming off a three game conference skid, dropping VCU back below .500, O’Boyle’s Rams were desperate to rediscover their winning ways Wednesday.
“Tonight was great,” O’Boyle said. “We’ve had some challenging practices to try and get our edge back a little bit and I was excited to see us do it for four quarters tonight.”
VCU was led by a foursome of double digit scorers against their Ram counterparts, as Thorpe, Robinson, Rowser and freshman guard Jailyn Maddox combined for more than 50 points.
Maddox’s 12 points set an early career-high for the Hoover, Alabama product. After returning from an eight game injury layoff last week against George Mason, Maddox rediscovered her shooting touch, sinking both her attempts from beyond the arc and shooting 60 percent from the field.
“We got a huge spark off the bench from Jailyn,” O’Boyle said. “It’s really exciting to have her back and healthy. We knew when we recruited her that she could help us get buckets and I’m just excited and happy to see her play so well tonight.”
Maddox added her increasing comfort around the team allowed her to have a big night offensively.
“Things are starting to click,” Maddox said. “My teammates have been really supportive and they’ve been building up my confidence. I feel like it finally showed tonight.”
VCU dominated Rhode Island on the stat sheet Wednesday, shooting over 43 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. The Black and Gold outrebounded their opponents by double digits and nearly doubled Rhode Island’s assist output.
Rhode Island’s Charise Wilson went off for a game-high 25 points on the night, but O’Boyle said she was proud of the way her ladies were able to counter the visitors’ potent offense.
“We knew that even though Rhode Island had been struggling a little bit, that they could really score,” she said. “They have one of the best guards in the league and we needed to make sure that we had a great team effort.”
VCU returns to action Saturday as they head home to take on University of Massachusetts Amherst at the Siegel Center at 1 p.m.
_______________________________________________________________________
Nick Versaw, Staff Writer
Pilar Curtis, Staff Photographer