Tuesday night at the Siegel Center featured VCU Women’s Basketball in a favorable Atlantic 10 matchup versus La Salle. The Rams went into the contest on a 3 game winning streak while the Explorers were stuck on a 3 game losing skid. VCU went full defensive mode that led to turnovers aplenty being turned into a barrage of points against La Salle.

A Fairly Matched Duel

The first quarter was close out of the gates with La Salle holding the advantage. A 10-6 lead for the Explorers with La Salle shooting 4-of-5 from the field on their first 5 offensive attempts. Taya Robinson kept the Rams in the game with 5 points and brought the game leveled at 10-10 before the media timeout.

VCU went into defensive mode and forced 6 visiting turnovers in less than 6 minutes. Danielle Hammond and Robinson went to work inside the paint to stay within striking distance. The Rams hit a cold streak of nearly 4 minutes without a field goal until Olga Petrova knocked down a jumper with 6 seconds remaining.

A 13-13 tie at the end of the 1^st quarter was highlighted with VCU struggling offensively at 33% from the field on 5-of-15 shooting.

Let The Turnover Feast Begin!

Turnovers became a bigger issue for La Salle in the 2^nd quarter. VCU’s defense put heavy pressure on the Explorers leading to 17 turnovers in the 1^st half. Offense came alive for the Black & Gold scoring 19 points off those La Salle turnovers.

Petrova ignited a VCU 11-0 scoring run with a mid-range jump shot. Madison Hattix-Convington was a force under the rim for VCU with a second chance layup. Following that was damage control at the free throw line by Danielle Hammond and Tera Reed increasing the lead to 34-20. VCU went 9-of-12 from the charity strike in the 1^st half.

VCU Could Not Be Stopped

Inside the painted box, VCU established a 16-8 scoring advantage. The Rams kept feeding the ball inside while Reed and Robinson kept sprinting to the bucket for layups. La Salle could not respond offensively and was held to 7 points in the quarter.

Both offenses were held back once play resumed. The 3^rd quarter was a dry spell for both VCU and La Salle on offense before the media timeout arrived. Kseniya Malashka got VCU going from downtown which woke up the Rams for a 12-0 point spree lasting over 5 minutes.

Who Said Defense Isn’t Fun?

With a 52-28 lead going into the 4^th quarter, VCU defended their way to victory. Turnovers kept burying the Explorers with a season-high 34 total turnovers. Those turnovers fueled VCU with for 35 points with the trio of Hammond, Reed, and Robinson leading the way on offense.

The paint was painted Black & Gold by the end of the contest with a 30-16 point advantage for the Rams. Head coach Beth O’Boyle got point production from her VCU bench with 33 points led by Danielle Hammond with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Tera Reed led the VCU starters with 12 points and Taya Robinson put up an additional 10 points.

Staying With The A-10 Pack

VCU improved to 2-0 in Atlantic 10 play with a defensive showcase in the 68-38 victory over La Salle. The Rams improved to 10-5 overall and increase their current streak to 4 consecutive victories.

Next up for VCU Women’s Basketball is a rivalry at Richmond in the Robins Center against the Spiders. That game takes place on Saturday, January 12^th at 6 PM.