The VCU Rams handed the Presbyterian College women's basketball team a 55-36 loss on Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Richmond, Va.
The Blue Hose (0-2) only trailed the Rams 28-26 at halftime, but the hosts came out strong in the second half, scoring seven unanswered points before PC's Keyonna Allen scored the team's first bucket five minutes into the half.
Sophomore Aianna Kelly led the Blue Hose in the loss with a 12-point, 6-rebound, 3-assist performance, while freshman Cortney Storey added 11 points in her second collegiate start.
The Rams got out to a 17-9 lead in the first half, but the Blue Hose trimmed the lead to 19-17 on 3-pointers made by Storey and sophomore Rebecca Walker. Storey tied up the game 23-23 on two good free throws near the five minute mark.
Kelly tallied three buckets and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line for 10 points in the first half. Storey drained two 3-pointers and made the game-tying foul shots en route to eight first half points. Walker also added eight points of her own in the first half.
The Rams outscored the Blue Hose 27-10 in the second half. The hosts scored nine unanswered points midway through the final half and continued to pull away for the remainder of the game.
Senior Noelle Carter was 3-for-4 from the line in the second half and Allen had her single bucket at the start of the second frame to round out the scoring performance for PC.
Monnazjea Finney-Smith drained four 3-pointers to score 12 points for the Rams. Ashley Pegram also bucketed 12 points, while Adaeze Alaeze tallied 11 points and Isis Thorpe scored nine.
PC made eight shots from the floor, a trio of treys, and was 11-for-16 from the line.
The ladies open up the home schedule on Tuesday when they host Allen at 5 p.m. in a men's and women's doubleheader. The men's team hosts Piedmont at 7:30 p.m.
