RICHMOND, Va. - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team dropped its Atlantic 10 opener at VCU on Saturday, 59-40, at the E.J. Wade Arena.

Making her first collegiate start, sophomore Lula Roig scored a game-high 12 points, but it wasn't enough for the Hawks to overcome their cold shooting in the second and third quarters. Holding Saint Joseph's to a combined 4-of-17 shooting from the floor over the two quarters, the Rams pushed its lead from 15-11 at the end of the first, to 48-24 to start the fourth quarter as they outscored the visitors, 33-14.

After a back-and-forth first quarter, VCU's defense hampered the Hawks' offense in the second as they held SJU to no field goals in the final 8:38 of the period.

Despite the cold streak, Saint Joseph's entered the third quarter down just 27-18 thanks to a pair of Roig free throws in the final minute. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they'd get no closer as the Rams used a 12-2 run to begin the period and kept SJU at a distance from there.

For the game, Saint Joseph's shot 31 percent from the floor (13-of-42), went 3-of-13 from behind the arc (23.1 percent) and hit 11-of-13 from the foul line (84.6 percent). 

Redshirt freshman Katie Jekot added eight points and two assists in a reserve role, while senior Whisper Fisher finished with four points and four rebounds in her first collegiate start.

At the other end, VCU shot 39.6 percent from the field (19-of-48), hit 4-of-16 from three-point range and 17-of-19 from the foul line (89.5 percent). Danielle Hammond, Tera Reed and Taya Robinson each had 11 points to lift the Rams to 9-5 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.

Saint Joseph's (4-10, 0-1 A-10) returns to action this Wednesday when it hosts Saint Louis at 11:30 a.m. The game is part of the Hawks' annual Kids Day promotion for local school children.

GAME NOTES: SJU is now 9-7 all-time versus VCU and 29-7 in conference openers...Alyssa Monaghan finished with three points and four rebounds...Katie Mayock blocked two shots and added two points and two rebounds...Nailah Delinois matched Roig with a team-best five rebounds and scored three points...Devyne Newman scored her first collegiate points, finishing with two points to go with a rebound...Ashlyn Wert and Avery Marz both went 2-of-2 from the foul line, while Wert added two rebounds...Mary Sheehan finished with two points and a rebound...Michala Clay added an assist...Kristalyn Baisden and Elizabeth Marsicano both saw action.

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