VCU Women’s Basketball broke their attendance record at education day with 4, 132 fans in attendance for their season opener against the Coppin State Eagles. It was Head Coach Beth O’Boyle’s fast paced brand of hoops from start to finish as VCU dominated Coppin State all 4 quarters on the court.
An up tempo start had the Rams outscoring the Eagles 17-8 in the first quarter. Coppin State struggled against an aggressive VCU offense and defense early and often. The Black and Gold had strong communication on the court and Isis Thorpe drained her first 3 point shot of the season as an added opener bonus. Thorpe led the Rams with 8 points in early action.
Coppin State almost doubled production in the second quarter adding 15 points but VCU added another 20 to extend their lead to 14. Graham added 7 points and Beverly added 5 for the Eagles. The Rams continued getting it off the glass adding another 24 and giving them extra opportunities to score. Thorpe added her second 3 pointer of the season and at the half was the point leader with 11 of the Rams 37.
Brelove gave the Rams a lot of help under the basket acquiring 10 rebounds by the end of the third quarter. Great communication on the court and follow through on missed opportunities contributed to extra chances for VCU throughout the game. The Rams still outscored the Eagles but dipped in production from the first half adding 12 points and extending to a 49-30 advantage over CSU.
In the final quarter Coppin State found another gear but it would be enough to slow the Rams. A few early buckets were quickly answered by VCU as they thwarted the opposition’s attempts to cut the deficit. Pegram boosted the offense adding 6 points and a burst of late game energy to finish second in scoring behind Thorpe with 10 while Skinner added 9 overall for the Rams.
At the buzzer VCU collected a decisive first victory with a 73 -44 win over Coppin State and will return to the Stu on Tuesday November 15th to take on former Head Coach Marlene Stollings and the Minnesota Gophers. Tip off is set for 6pm.
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