By Skye Tulio
Sports Editor
On Sunday, the women’s basketball team (9-13, 2-5) welcomes Virginia Commonwealth to the Reilly Center at 1 p.m.
This serves as the first meeting between the two teams since VCU (8-14, 1-6) joined the Atlantic 10 in July 2012. In three of the last four years, the VCU Rams won 20 games with postseason appearances in each of those years.
The Bonnies continue to be a defensive force in the A-10, allowing an average of 55.1 points per game. The women currently hold fourth place in the A-10’s scoring defense. The Rams, currently in 15th place in the standings, have allowed 59.5 points per game.
VCU comes in to the game on a six-game losing streak, with its last win coming Jan. 16 at Temple, 53-51. Most recently, the team lost to St. Joseph’s, 55-50, Wednesday. The team is seventh in the A-10 in offensive rebounds compared to the Bonnies’ 16th spot.
Rams Head Coach Marlene Stollings is in her first season at VCU. Stollings joined the Rams after spending the 2011-‘12 campaign as head coach at Winthrop University. After leading the Eagles to more than 40 school records, Stollings was named 2012 Big South Coach of the Year.
On Sunday, the Bonnies traveled to Xavier (7-14, 1-6) and fell to the Musketeers, 58-50. After falling behind early, the women allowed the Musketeers to capture their first A-10 win. The Bonnies have never beat the Musketeers on their home turf, the Cintas Center, after losing in the 2010-‘11, 2008-‘09 and 2006-‘07 seasons as well.
The Bonnies shot 32.1 percent from the floor while allowing the Musketeers to shoot 47.4 percent. Freshmen accounted for 15 of the Bonnies’ 19 points in the opening half with junior forward Doris Ortega scoring four.
In each of the Bonnies’ last four games, freshman forward Katie Healy has been in double-figures. This is the longest streak for any of the team’s freshmen so far this season. The Lancaster, N.Y. native averaged 12.8 points over that span.
Fellow freshman Nyla Rueter led the Bonnies in scoring in the last two games, making her the first freshman to do so in back-to-back games this season. The guard is averaging seven rebounds over the last two games. Overall, Rueter has led the Bonnies in scoring three times.
Additionally, Rueter, Healy and freshman guard Emily Michael have started each of the last four games together. Although the Bonnies are 1-3 in those games, the trio accounted for 46.7 percent of the Brown and White’s scoring in those four games and produced 30.1 percent of the Bonnies overall scoring this season.
The women travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to face Butler Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
The Bulldogs (14-8, 4-2) have won six of their last eight games.
At press time, the Bonnies game against Duquesne had not yet been played.
