Hayden Braun, Staff Writer
Drew Thompson, Sports Editor
Men’s basketball vs. University of Richmond
VCU jumped out early and held off a late rally to defeat Richmond 77-69 on Tuesday night at the Siegel Center. Five Rams scored in double figures, led by third-year forward Lazar Djokovic and second-year guard Terrence Hill Jr. with 14 points each, according to VCU Athletics.
Women’s basketball vs. Fordham University
VCU had a dominant 69-58 win over Fordham on Wednesday at the Siegel Center behind balanced scoring and defensive pressure. Third-year forward Lucy Ghaifan had 14 points and seven rebounds while second-year guard Cyriah Griffin led the Rams all around with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists as VCU controlled the game for most of the night.
Men’s tennis vs. DePaul University
The Rams escaped with a narrow 4-3 victory over the Blue Demons. The two teams were locked up at three in the singles matches, but a clean sweep from VCU in doubles paved the way for the win. Second-years Mats Bredschneijder and Erwann Bouchet won their doubles, with Bouchet also winning his singles. Second-year Gevorg Mnatsakanyan got the decisive win for VCU in his singles performance after a three set performance that went back-and-forth.
Men’s basketball vs. Loyola University Chicago
VCU overcame a slow start to defeat Loyola Chicago 89-75 on the back of another career night for Hill. Hill posted a new career-high of 24 points off the bench, as he now leads the Rams in points per game with 14.9. The Ramblers came out the gate strong with a 24-9 lead, however Hill and third-year guard Tyrell Ward became spark plugs off the bench and brought VCU back by halftime. VCU took off in the second half and put the game out of reach from that point on. The Rams outscored the Ramblers bench 51-15 in the match; the key difference in the victory.
Men’s tennis vs. East Tennessee State University
The Rams lost 3-4 in a close-fought matchup against the Buccaneers. ETSU won the doubles’ sets to secure the victory after both teams split the singles matchups. Bouchet continued his hot streak in singles, but he and Bredschneijder came up short in doubles. The win came down to a final tiebreaker in doubles, and after some back-and-forth ETSU eventually left with the win in the third set.
Women’s basketball vs. Richmond
VCU lost 65-77 to Richmond despite second-year forward Katarina Kneževic posting a career-high 22 points off the bench. The difference came in shot selection and fouls. Richmond made more threes than VCU and shot 17/18 from the free throw line compared to VCU’s 5/11. The Rams did hold the advantage in points off turnovers with 16 points off 17 turnovers to the Spiders 11 points off 15 turnovers. VCU brought it close near the end of the game, but Richmond continuously pulled ahead to take the win.