LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Senior forward D'Andra Moss scored a game-high 19 points but Virginia Commonwealth University couldn't overcome a strong second half by Arkansas as the Rams fell 68-58 in the final round at the Duel in the Desert Tournament at Cox Pavilion.

VCU dropped its third game in a row and dips to 5-5 on the year, while Arkansas improves to 7-5 on the season.

Freshman forward Bree'Ana Perry contributed a career-high 13 points on5-of-7 shooting off the bench for VCU.  Senior guard La'Tavia Rorie added 12 points and a game-high six assists for the Rams.

Arkansas had four players score in double figures Ceira Ricketts led the Razerbacks with 18 points.  Charity Ford added 14 points, while the duo of Dominique Robinson and Lyndsay Harris contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.

VCU came out strong to start the game and built a 12-3 lead through the first five minutes of the contest.  Arkansas answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and pulled within a point on a layup by Dominique Robinson with 11:10 to go in the opening period.

The Rams ended a six-minute scoring drought and went up 14-11 on a jumper by Rorie at the 10:04 mark.  Just under a minute later Arkansas took its first lead since 18:54 on a jumper by Ceira Ricketts and led by as many as three before VCU regained the lead on a layup by Perry with7:50 remaining.  Perry reeled off nine-straight points to put the Rams back in front 27-23 with four minutes showing. 

Arkansas pulled within a point on two occasions the remainder of the half and VCU took a 32-29 lead at the break.

After committing 12 first half turnovers against Kansas State on Sunday, VCU turned the ball over just six times in the opening period against the Razorbacks.  The Rams forced 11 Arkansas miscues in the first 20 minutes.

The Rams came out of the locker room strong as Moss hit a 3-pointer on the Rams' first possession of the second half before Rorie knocked down a jumper to give the Rams a 37-29 advantage with 18:13 remaining.  Arkansas answered with an 11-4 run and tied the score at 40-40 on a free throw by Ashley Daniels with 13:12 to go.

Arkansas took its first lead of the second half and final lead of the game at 51-50 with a basked by Ricketts with 7:18 to go.  The Razorbacks extended their lead to 56-51 over the next four minutes before scoring 17 of the final 25 points of the game to secure the win.

VCU shot just 34.9% (22-of-63) from the field and 26.7% (4-of-15) from 3-point range, while Arkansas connected on 46.2% (24-of-52)  of its shots and 33.3% (7-of-21) from behind the arc.

The Rams return to the court on Monday, December 28 for a 4 p.m. road contest against in-state foe Longwood.