STUDENT PROGRAM RECAP: Duquesne Ends VCU’s 2025-26 Campaign with Late Rally
Alexis Washington is the assistant sports editor for The Commonwealth Times, a student-run newspaper at Virginia Commonwealth University. She joined The CT in 2023 as a contributing writer, became a staff writer in 2025 and later stepped into an editorial role. This is her second year covering the A-10 women's basketball championship.
No. 13 seed VCU’s season came to an end with a hard-fought loss to No. 12 Duquesne in the first round of the Betterment Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship.
The defeat marks the Rams’ second consecutive first round exit at the Henrico Sports & Events Center after falling to La Salle last season.
The Rams battled injuries to three guards throughout the season — including 2026 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection Mary-Anna Asare. Prior to her injury, Asare averaged 17.4 points per game.
“It hurt us offensively, but it hurt us defensively,” interim head coach Kirk Crawford said. “Mary was a non-conference player on both ends of the floor — I'm proud that there was never any excuses of those three players being out.”
The Rams snatched an early 12-0 run, forcing the Dukes to commit six turnovers. Senior forward Makennah White connected on a deep three-pointer and led the Rams with five first quarter points.
Freshman guards Ty Williams and Lai Crespin Pastor added threes to advance the lead as VCU established an early offensive rhythm, while the defense matched the energy with two blocks, two steals and six defensive rebounds.
The Rams shot 41% in the opening quarter compared to the Dukes’ 15%.VCU’s bench contributed five points while all of Duquesne’s scoring came from its starting five.
After being held without a point in the first quarter, sophomore guard Katarina Kneževic responded in the second, leading VCU with eight first-half points.
Kneževic finished the half 2-for-6 from beyond the arc, adding two steals and two assists. She closed the half with a three-pointer to give the Rams a 30-19 advantage.
The intensity for the Rams continued after half time, opening on a 5-0 run. White knocked down a 3-pointer followed by junior forward Lucy Ghaifan driving the ball to the rim.
However, late fouls in the game and poor offense forced the Dukes to come back and the Rams lead drifted away — Dukes took their first lead of the game entering the final quarter.
Dukes’ freshman guard Alexis Boardas and sophomore guard Mackenzie Blackford contributed to their late comeback combining for 13 points in the fourth.
“We were just flowing better. We have a lot more movement,” Bordas said. “We were kind of stagnant in the first half, not really moving off the ball, so just cutting more off ball screens gave us some more movement.”
VCU trailed by eight early in the final period. Bordas took control down the stretch, going on a personal 5-0 run to secure the 60–52 victory for Duquesne.