RICHMOND, Va. – Senior
Lovin Marsicano and rookie
Talya Brugler each posted career highs in points as Saint Joseph's (4-9, 0-1 A-10) took an 18-point deficit and slashed it to five, but couldn't take the lead as it fell to VCU (7-5, 2-0 A-10), 72-64.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- VCU held the upper hand to begin the game with a 13-5 lead at the media stoppage with 3:41 remaining in the opening frame. The home team tallied nine of the final 13 points to hold a 22-9 lead after the first period. Marsicano led the Hawks with four points. VCU's 22 points is the most allowed by SJU in a first stanza this season.
- St. Joe's cut the deficit with a 6-0 spurt to begin the second period, however VCU answered with back-to-back triples for a 28-15 lead with 6:44 left in the second. The Hawks chipped the deficit to 11 with an 8-6 advantage through the rest of the half. VCU led 34-23.
- VCU pushed its lead up to 15 points after a 13-9 scoring advantage over the initial 5:12 of the third period. It was a slim 9-8 Rams' margin the rest of the period for a 56-40 lead with one period remaining.
- SJU opened the final period with a 10-3 run to cut the lead to single digits, 59-50. Following a Rams' timeout, St. Joe's cut it to five points with a 5-1 spurt over the next 53 seconds for another VCU timeout. The Rams took the next five points to push it back to 10 points, 65-55, with 3:46 left. Another five straight from SJU pulled it within five again, but a 7-4 VCU spread kept the Rams in front for a 72-64 final. Marsicano ended with 14 points in the final period.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE:
- St. Joe's shot 41.5% (27-of-65) overall, 26.1% (6-of-23) from three, and 66.7% (4-of-6) from the line.
- VCU went 43.3% (26-of-50) from the field, 36.8% (7-of-9) from deep, and 65.0% (13-of-20) from the stripe.
- The Hawks won the rebounding margin (+2), but lost the turnover margin (-5).
- Marsicano finished with 23 points on a 9-of-14 outing, including 4-of-7 from deep.
- Brugler registered 19 points on an 8-of-15 performance and added eight rebounds to tie her career mark.
UP NEXT:
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday as Richmond visits Hagan Arena.