Lady Rams thwart ODU, join list of CAA contenders

[BigE]

NORFOLK, Va. – If nothing else, the VCU Women's Basketball team sounded like a championship contender after Thursday night's heart-pounding, 63-60, victory at Old Dominion. Like a team in mid-season form, the clichés were out in full force.

"…any time you can go on the road and win in the CAA is big."
"We've got to take it one game at a time…"
"…it's just another game…"

Etcetera, etcetera. Rinse and repeat.

Yup, the Rams said all the right things. They tried to be overtly humble and show a sense of perspective. They tried to act like it was just another game, but it's really not that simple.

The magnitude of Thursday's victory over the Lady Monarchs (11-6, 5-1 CAA), previously unbeaten in the CAA, is much greater than that. Considering that VCU (10-6, 5-1 CAA) once went 37 seasons between victories in Norfolk until a 75-56 triumph last season, it's impossible to call any victory in the Ted Constant Center just another win. Not if you want anybody to believe you, anyway.

For all the political correctness expressed in the moments following the victory, there was real, raw emotion in VCU's celebration near midcourt at the final buzzer. Having just withstood a furious rally by ODU in the closing minutes, the Rams erupted off the bench, although some of it was probably an expression of relief.

It was obvious on the players' faces and in the endless supply of high-fives and hugs handed out by Dan Cunningham, husband of Rams' Head Coach Beth Cunningham, on his way back to the locker room to congratulate his wife.

The reality of it was that the Rams had just scored their biggest win of the season behind a 19-point, 16-rebound effort by junior Courtney Hurt, two clutch buckets by sophomore Sonia Johnson down the stretch and timely contributions by a number of other players.

"I think we built a little character," said Hurt. "A lot of people stepped up, made big plays. [Sonia] played one of her better games so far. It's given us something to build on."

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