RICHMOND, VA – VCU will play in its third straight Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship title game, advancing to the final with a 56-60 win over top-seeded Dayton in Saturday afternoon's first semifinal at the Siegel Center.
As the final buzzer struck zero, VCU coach Beth O’Boyle’s mindset could not be any clearer, after knocking off the team that eliminated the Rams in last year's Championship final -- she just wanted to see her seniors.
“Honestly I’m thinking about those hugs with Taya (Robinson) and Tera (Reed), I couldn’t find them quick enough after the game,” O’Boyle. “We’ve been on such a journey together and Madison (Haddix-Covington), Sophie (Pashigoreva) and Olga (Petrova). The smiles on our faces to get back. The program has gotten to the top of the A-10 because of all of their heart. I was so excited to see them so happy.”
VCU’s victory snaps a three-game losing streak versus Dayton which includes the setback in last year’s A-10 Championship title match.
Taya Robinson led the way with 18 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven steals. Tera Reed added 12 points and Sarah Te-Biasu 11.
“I would like to congratulate Coach Green and the Dayton Flyers,” said O’Boyle. “They are a tremendous program and when you talk about the road to the A-10 Championship, it has been between VCU and Dayton and we knew it was going to be another battle today. I don’t think we’ve had a game that hasn’t been close the last couple of years. We really talked about this taking 40 minutes of us playing hard and playing really focused. I’m just so proud of our team, our effort and the great leadership that we had. It was a tremendous win and we’re really excited to be back in that championship game again.”
Dayton was paced by Jenna Giacone’s 16 points, while Kyla Whitehead recorded 10 points. Tenin Magassa pulled down 10 rebounds.
“Credit VCU I thought they made those plays they needed to and played extremely hard,” Dayton coach Shauna Green said. “Robinson came up huge for them again and made some tough shots down the stretch. Their seniors made senior plays and I know how that is because we had that core group last year and it was the same way. We didn’t do what we needed to do. We talk all the time about our three battles; the boards, paint and ball and we lost all three. It was the first game we’ve lost all three. I thought we got good looks with the plays we had down the stretch and we didn’t hit them.”
This game had a total of 15 lead changes.
"I kept reminding our team that this is fun and that we can be highly competitive while we are having fun,” said O’Boyle. “When we have a little bounce in our step, the game comes to us. The A-10 this year, it’s been a balanced league and every game has been tight. For us it is taking those lessons and that experience."
Dayton made two of its first three shots in the first quarter as Whitehead converted a 3-point shot and Whalen dropped in a layup.
VCU’s defense responded with a surge as Dayton was held to an 0-for-10 from the field, going 6:57 without a basket. Though VCU shot 16.7 percent from the field in the first quarter, two free throws from Robinson, put the Rams in front for the first time. Whitehead responded 58 seconds later to place Dayton back in front. Her layup saw Dayton go on another 5-0 run closing out the quarter, allowing for the Flyers to lead by four.
VCU successfully turned the page scoring 26 points, its highest total in a quarter this season.
Down seven, the Rams went on an 18-2 run as Green had to call two timeouts in an effort to refocus her Flyers.
“Really the second quarter is what killed us,” Green said. “You can’t hold a team to six points and then give up 26 points. That’s not our defense, it hasn’t been the core of what we do and that’s the game right there because we were good throughout the rest.”
VCU led by six points at halftime.
Dayton retook the lead in the third quarter when triples from Giacone and Whitehead put the Flyers back in front by a point. The teams traded the lead, and the Rams held a one-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to win this game. We were just staying together,” Robinson said. “We know they have shooters, so it was making sure we set screens, talk on defense, get it out to shooters, play good in the paint. It was a lot of talk and staying together.”
VCU led by two points with 1:25 remaining and converted four free throws while Dayton came up empty offensively, securing the win.
The Rams are seeking their first-ever A-10 title. It will face either Saint Louis or Massachusetts Sunday at noon on ESPNU, with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
“Being in this position before I feel like it helps a lot.” Robinson. “We’ve got experience. We have some young players on the team, but they’ve been playing like they’ve been here before too. I feel like we’ve helped them and I think it’s just us staying together. What we’ve been through is going to help us a lot.”