Jenny Allen, Staff Writer
VCU’s season came to an unfortunate end after Duquesne University stole its lead in the second half of the first round of the Betterment Atlantic 10 2026 Women’s Championship tournament, taking a 60-52 victory.
Atlantic 10 tournament results
The Betterment Atlantic 10 2026 Women’s Championship tournament began with Duquesne winning the tip, sinking two quick buckets for the first points of the game.
The Rams had electric energy in the first quarter as they prevented the Dukes from scoring for over seven minutes. The Rams’ adrenaline closed out the first quarter on top 15-10.
VCU carried their momentum into the second quarter with impressive plays on offense and defense from third-year forward Lucia Sotelo and second year guard Katarina Knezevic.
Going into the half, VCU led 30-19 and shot 37% from the field goal compared to Duquesne’s 21%.
The Rams came out of the locker room with hopes to keep their lead up. However, the Dukes’ abruptly stole the Rams’ buzz, taking the lead for the first time since the first quarter.
VCU tried to fight back but Duquesne did not let up and regained their lead as they entered the fourth and final quarter.
The Rams’ continued to fall behind. The Dukes’ rhythm stretched into the final quarter.
All-out efforts were shown from both teams with one minute left to play, as Duquesne was up by four.
The Rams began to foul in hopes of possession, however the buzzer hit — putting an end to VCU’s season.
“We talked about it in the locker room after the game, that just because there’s a loss here, that does not dictate who those people, who those players are in the locker room,” said VCU head coach Kirk Crawford.
After O’Boyle’s departure, VCU couldn’t get a win
After the Rams’ were led by head coach Beth O’Boyle for 12 seasons, her departure left an impact on the team.
O’Boyle was relieved from her coaching duties at the beginning of February and left the team in the hands of assistant coach Kirk Crawford for the remaining season.
Crawford joined the Rams’ coaching staff in 2017 and brought over 30 years of Division 1 basketball, WNBA and NBA experience with him.
He took over the team in the midst of an 8-15 season and 4-7 in conference play.
From there, the Rams did not have another victory — bringing their overall 2025-26 season record to 8-23.
Crawford debuted his coaching against Loyola University Chicago on Feb. 7 and left with a 10-point loss.
The losses only piled up from there, all the way to the women’s A-10 tournament to finish up the season.
Despite the Rams’ downfall after O’Boyle’s exit, Crawford showed respect and appreciation for his team after the challenging season.
“I’m very proud of this team, of continuing to be competitive, continuing to practice competitively and to really practice and play with character,” Crawford said.
Players showed the same feelings — saying they felt they gave their all this season, despite the hard year.
“We all play for personal pride, also, I feel like it was a hard year, it was really hard to just keep it up, but there’s only that you have left to do, so that’s what we did,” Sotelo said.
Crawford has kept a positive mindset, saying the team’s three season-ending injuries to crucial players are no excuse.
“It was always the next person up,” Crawford said. “It was always ‘what do we have to do to get over that.’ I think the biggest thing that I’m proud of is that there was never any excuses of those three players being out. We always looked forward, we always moved forward.”
There is currently no clue as to who will fill the role of head coach for the 2026-27 season. However, the Rams’ will be hoping for a better outcome as they continue to stick together.