Defense prevails as the Rams Hold off Fordham 57-54

(RICHMOND, VA) VCU Women's Rams defeated the Fordham Rams 57-54 to capture their 14th win and remain undefeated at the Siegel Center this season. Timaya Lewis-Eutsey led VCU with 16 points while Taylor Donaldson led Fordham with 27 points. 

Mykel Parham hit two free throws to give the Rams an early 2-0 lead in the first minute of the 1st quarter. The first quarter saw 4 lead changes and 4 ties. A Taylor Donaldson jumper put Fordham up by 2 points ( Fordham 6 VCU 4, 7:34 remaining) and would be the only lead that Fordham had in this game. VCU went on a 6-2 run, leading 16-12 at the end of the 1st quarter. 

VCU increased their lead to begin the 2nd quarter as Mykel Parham And- One play put the Rams up 19-12 with 8:17 remaining. Offensive contributions by Grace Hutson, Sara Te-Biasu & Timaya Lewis-Eutsey helped VCU increase the double-digit lead. Fordham in the 2nd quarter went scoreless in the final 6 minutes & shot 15.4 % from the field goal range. VCU led 31-18 at halftime. 

In the 3rd quarter, VCU maintained their lead. Grace Hutson’s driving layup gave the Rams their biggest lead as they led 40-24 with 4:01 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Fordham started to chip away at the lead as they were down 46-34 at the end of the 3rd quarter. 

Fordham decreased VCU's lead to 8 as Kailah Harris hit a jumper with 9:01 remaining in the 4th quarter (VCU 46-38). Taylor Donaldson's 3-pointer put Fordham within 1 point of tying the game with 1:20 remaining (VCU 51-50). Grace Hutson’s 3-pointer with .49 seconds put the Rams up by 4 (VCU 54-50). VCU got 3 stops in the final 15 seconds including Fordham’s  Mandy McGurk's 3-point attempt blocked by Timaya Lewis-Eutsey to give VCU the 57-54 win. 

Box Score 

At the Podium 

After tonight's win, we spoke with Head Coach Beth O’Boyle and Grace Hutson 

What's Next

The Rams (14-2, 3-1 A-10) will hit the road as they will face Loyola-Chicago on January 13th. The tip-off is at 2 pm.

Bishop IV's game-winner stuns the Rams 84-82

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The VCU Rams fell to the George Washington Revolutionaries 84-82. The Rams coming off an 89-78 loss to Saint Bonaventure on Wednesday fall to 0-2 in the A-10 Conference. George Washington got their 1st A-10 win of the season on Saturday coming off a 119-113 loss in 3 OTS to Fordham on Wednesday.  James Bishop IV led the Revolutionaries with 28 Points, while Max Shulga led the Rams with 20 points.  

Kuany Kuany and Max Shulga hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Rams up 6-0 (18:05 left in the first half. The Rams shot 55% behind the ark in the first half as they connected on 6 Three-pointers out of 11 attempts. Sean Baristow's layup and Zeb Jackons’s 3-pointer extend the Rams lead to 8 (Rams 13-5 with 14:36 remaining). The Rams had their biggest lead with 10:41 remaining, Rams 21-12. The Revolutionaries fired back as Maximus Edwards's 3-pointer put them up 27-26 (5:01 remaining). Darren Buchanan Jr.'s jumper put George Washinton up by 2 (31-29 w/ 3:36 remaining). Christian Fermin Layup and Joe Bamisile layup put the Rams up 35-33 at halftime. 

Maximus Edwards's layup in the opening minute of the 2nd half put the Revolutionaries up 36-35. Throughout the 2nd half, there were 15 lead changes between the Rams and the Revolutionaries. The Rams took a 73-71 lead (4:05 remaining in the game), the last lead they would have. Joe Bamisile hit a trio of free throws to tie the game 80-80 ( 41 seconds remaining), and Garrett Johnson countered with 2 free throws to give the 82-80 lead. Joe Bamisile hit a floater to tie the game at 82 with 11.4 seconds remaining. James Bishop IV hit a left-handed high-arched game-winner to put George Washington 84-82 with 1 second left & gave the Revolutionaries their 12th win of the season. 

Box Score

At the Podium 

After today’s loss, we spoke with Head Coach Ryan Odom, Joe Bamisile & Max Shulga 

What's next 

• The Rams (8-7, 0-2 A-10) travel to George Mason on Tuesday, January 9th. Tip-off for Tuesday’s game is 7 pm

Michigan vs Washington Natty Preview

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For the 2nd time since the creation of the current College Football Playoff in 2014 (Ohio State from the Big Ten Conference Squared off vs Orgeon from the Pac 12 Conference in the inaugural CFP Championship), no team from the SEC conference will appear in the CFP National Championship, The Michigan Wolverines (representing the Big Ten Conference) and the Washington Huskies (representing the Pac 12 Conference) face off in the final CFP 4-team format ( The CFP Field will expand to 12 teams in 2024) where both teams enter Monday’s matchup undefeated. The Wolverines are seeking their 1st national championship since 1997, While the Huskies are seeking their 1st national championship since 1991. 

Road to the Natty 

Michigan (14-0) 

Defeated Alabama 27-20 in OT (Blake Corum's 17-yard run sealed the deal for Michigan) at the CFP Semi-finals (Rose Bowl). Michigan's defense sacked Alabama QB Jalen Milroe 6 times & the Crimson Tide only converted on 3 out of 14 possessions on 3rd and 4th down. Michigan has outscored its opponents by 26 points per game, leading the country in scoring defense. Michigan held its opponents to fewer than 10 points in 8 of their 14 opponents this season. 

The Wolverines rank 1st in Total Defense, Scoring Defense, & 2nd in turnover margin and passing Defense. Offensively the Wolverines ranked 14th in scoring offense and  70th  in Total offense. Michigan's defense registered 38 sacks this season and has held opposing QBs to just 56 % completion percentage. Michigan is led by Quarterback JJ McCarthy (230/314, 2851 Yards, 22TDS & 4 INTS, Running Back Blake Corum (237 Carries, 1111 Yards, 25TDS) & Defensive End Jaylen Harrell who leads the team with 7.5 Sacks. 

Washington (14-0) 

Defeated Texas 37-31 in the CFP Playoff (Sugar Bowl). Micheal Penix Jr leads the Huskies, 29/38 430 yards, 2 TDs. Elijah Jackson batted Qwin Ewer’s pass intended for AD Mitchell to seal the victory for the Huskies. Washington has won 10 straight games by 10 points or fewer entering Monday’s game Seven of those teams they faced were ranked at the time of the matchup. The last double-digit win for the Huskies was a 59-32 win over Cal on September 23rd. 

The Huskies ranked  2nd in Passing offense & 10th ( in Scoring offense and total offense). Washington defensively ranks 53rd (in Scoring Defense and turnover margin) & 94th in total defense. The Huskies' offensive line won the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in the country. Washington is led by Heisman finalist Micheal Penix Jr (336/504, 35 TDS & 9 INT), Running Back Dillion Johnson ( 222 Carries 1162 yards, 16 TDS), Wide receivers Rome Odunze (87 Rec, 1553 yards, 13 TDS) & Ja’Lynn Polk (65 Rec, 1122 Yards, 9 TDS). 

Keys to A Victory 

Michigan Wins if……..

• Pressure to Penix Jr. The Wolverines are the best in College Football in applying pressure to opposing QBs. In their matchup vs Alabama, they pressured Jalen Milroe 12 times and sacked him 6 times. 

• Limit the amount of possessions for Washington's offense by establishing a strong run game of Corum and Donovan Edwards to eat up the clock. 

• Limit and contain the dynamic Huskie’s Wide-receiver duo of Odunze & Polk

Washington Wins if ……….

• Control the tempo.  Must play to their strength by passing the ball and making this game a track meet to wear down the Wolverine's defense. 

• Run the ball on 1st Down, get the Wolverines to guess, and have their safeties drop in coverage to set up confusion on other future downs. 

• Penix Jr escapes the Wolverine's pressure and exploits potential mismatches. 

Prediction

Michigan 27 Washington 24