Making herstory: VCU women’s basketball sets new records

Alexis Washington,  Contributing Writer 

The VCU women’s basketball program has been making history all season, from the coach to the players.

The Rams are ranked No. 3 in the A-10 Conference with a 15-3 conference record; the team set a new record with 26 wins and tied the record for most wins in program history; and VCU head coach Beth O’Boyle became the program’s all-time leader scorer, according to VCU Athletics. 

The VCU women’s basketball team secured a 59-48 win against No. 2 ranked in the A-10 Conference Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 21, according to VCU Athletics. This win brought O’Boyle to 168 wins, surpassing former VCU head coach Beth Cunnigham. 

O’Boyle has been the head coach at VCU for 10 seasons, according to VCU Athletics. However, this season she made her mark in history.

“They’re some really good coaches on the list, from Cunningham and Shaka Smart,” O’Boyle said. “And I think for me, it’s a great honor.”

O’Boyle said the biggest part of this accomplishment is the people she got to do it with. 

“I am so grateful for all of the hard work and the passion of all of our student-athletes,” O’Boyle said. “To be part of their lives is just awesome and fun.”

The women’s basketball team witnessed history on senior night as well when they beat George Mason 61-56 in front of a packed house on March 2. The attendance record for women’s basketball was broken with 6,054 fans, according to VCU Athletics. 

O’Boyle said looking in the stands gave her chills and that she was thankful for the support from VCU alumni. 

Three VCU alumni took care of every obstacle and provided shirts, beads and brought people in the stu, according to O’Boyle.

“I don’t know if I could have written a better script if it was a movie,” O’Boyle said. “This was by far the best experience that I’ve been a part of here at VCU.”

Coming off a hard season last year, the VCU women’s basketball team stuck together while facing adversity, O’Boyle said. 

 “Everybody stayed, and it’s such a hot topic with the transfer portal and jumping ships,” O’Boyle said. “That’s not what our players decided to do, everybody came back and got healthy.”

VCU women’s basketball ended their season last year 7-22 overall, according to VCU Athletics. 

Working to move past that, coaching staff along with players set goals and expectations during the offseason, according to O’Boyle.

The commitment to the team while addressing the mental approach to adversity, was the biggest turnaround for the Rams, according to O’Boyle.

O’Boyle said she talked with captains and coaches to better the relationship from teammate to teammate and teammate to coach. She focused on player development and individual skills within the players. 

This season, the Rams went 26-5 overall, according to VCU Athletics.  

O’Boyle has had a huge impact on the players, according to fourth-year senior guard Sarah Te-Biasu and second-year guard Timaya Lewis-Eutsey.

“She’s really pushing us to be great players,” Te-Biasu said. “She’s always pushing us in practice and in the games making sure we are on the same page.”

Te-Biasu was named A-10 player of the year and said she thanks her family, coaches and teammates for pushing her to be better. 

“Last season was tough,” Te-Biasu said. “We came back and we worked hard all summer.”

Lewis-Eutsey was named to the A-10 all-conference third team. She said she feels excited for the growth of women’s sports after being a part of a sold out game.

Lewis-Eutsey said O’Boyle believed in the team after a difficult season and felt grateful for her coach because this led the way for the team to be where they are today. 

“I hope for the end of this season we get the chip,” Lewis-Eutsey said. “My hope for next season is to come out stronger and better.”