Third quarter woes lead Colonials over VCU women’s basketball

Noah Fleischman, Sports Editor

Down by one with less than 10 seconds on the clock, the Rams’ goal was to get the ball in the hands of junior guard Tera Reed. They did, but her 3-point shot at the buzzer hit off the rim and missed. 

The miss at the buzzer handed the Colonials the game, as women’s basketball fell to George Washington 56-55 Sunday afternoon at the Siegel Center. 

The loss is the second in the last three games for the Rams — both were at home and both were by three points or less. 

“This is the part that our team continues to grow and learn from,” coach Beth O’Boyle said. “In the A-10 it’s going to be a battle every game, it doesn’t matter where.”

After falling behind by two early on, the Rams went on a 7-0 run sparked by senior center Danielle Hammond’s 3-point play on a layup. 

George Washington answered with an 8-0 run midway through the quarter.

In the second quarter, Reed took over, scoring the Rams first 6 points in the period. She sparked the Rams’ 7-0 run to push the lead to 10. 

The Colonials closed the half on a 7-0 run of their own to pull within three. Hammond put her mark on the half, blocking George Washington’s Ariel Stephenson 3-point attempt at the buzzer. 

In the third quarter, the Rams and Colonials traded blows until George Washington knocked down back-to-back threes. The Rams went through multiple periods of scoreless basketball in the quarter, allowing the Colonials to take a 5-point lead. 

“Whether it’s the start of the game, whether it’s the third quarter, just that we are dictating the tempo of the game,” O’Boyle said on improvements that need to be made. “We need to make sure we keep the same intensity for over 40 minutes.”

The Colonials outscored the Rams 17-9 in the third quarter.

“We need to come out stronger in the second half,” Reed said. 

The Rams and Colonials traded baskets in the fourth as well, until Reed knocked down a 3-pointer and Hammond added two free throws to take a 1-point lead with less than two minutes left. 

After four timeouts between the two squads, Reed was called for a foul off the ball, putting George Washington’s Lexus Levy on the free throw line with 9.8 seconds left. Levy knocked down both shots to put the Colonials up one. 

George Washington out-rebounded the Rams 31-28 in the contest. 

“I think from the defensive side, we were right there with them,” O’Boyle said. “They got some extra offensive rebounds in the key stretch that can kind of be a dagger when they’re able to kick it out for those 3-point shots.”

The Rams shot 38% from the field, including 40% from deep. The Colonials shot 47% from the field and 46% from beyond the arc. 

The Rams are back in action on Thursday against St. Bonaventure at 6 p.m. at the Siegel Center.