RICHMOND, Va. – Senior forward D’Andra Moss poured in a team-high 19 points and drained a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to give Virginia Commonwealth University a 60-59 victory against Delaware Thursday at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

Following a timeout with eight seconds remaining, senior guard Kita Waller sent and inbounds pass to sophomore guard Jennifer Lane at midcourt.  Lane dribbled to the top of the circle and found Moss cutting to her right.  Moss, who was just 1-of-7 from behind the arc entering the final seconds of regulation, took the feed and drained the triple with 0.4 seconds showing to give the Rams their eight-consecutive victory and remain unbeaten in Colonial Athletic Association play.

“That’s exactly what we were looking for,” said VCU Head Coach Beth Cunningham of Moss’ game-winning shot. “It was just a matter of recognizing if they were in man or zone. It’s something we go over a lot.  Our kids know it, so, it’s just a matter of Dee stepping up and hitting it. That thing didn’t even hit rim. She canned it.”

Moss described the game-winner as one of her greatest basketball moments and credited the Rams’ close contests earlier this year as preparation for a game coming down to the final possession.

“I just didn’t want to let my team down,” said Moss.  “The fact that my coach trusts me enough regardless of how poor I’ve been shooting all game long, she still trusts me enough to win the game.  With all those tough games we had early in the season, we just know how to win when it’s close.”

Delaware freshman guard/forward Elena Delle Donne led all scorers with 27 points, while rookie guard Jaquetta May added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench for the Blue Hens.

Sophomore forward Courtney Hurt (right)contributed 16 points and five rebounds for VCU.  Waller chipped in 14 points and three steals, while junior guard Ebony Patterson added five points, four rebounds and a career-high eight assists for the Rams.

VCU (13-5, 6-0 CAA) jumped out to an early 19-8 advantage following a pair of free throws by Patterson at the 10:39 mark in the first half.  The lead didn’t last long as Delaware answered with an 8-0 run to pull within 19-16 three minutes later.

The Rams went back on top by eight with just over five minutes left before the break but Delaware closed the period with an 11-4 spurt to make it a one-point VCU lead at the half.

Delaware (11-6, 3-3 CAA) scored the first basket of the second half and took its first lead of the game on a layup by May with 17:06 remaining.  There were two ties and 10 lead changes over the next eight minutes and the Blue Hens built a 51-43 advantage with 9:26 to go.

The Rams stormed back and used a 12-4 run spanning nearly seven minutes and tied the score at 55 on a 3-pointer by Waller with 2:24 remaining.

Both teams traded baskets the remainder of the half and Delaware took a 59-57 lead on a layup by Jocelyn Bailey with 11 seconds on the clock before Moss’ heroics in the final seconds of regulation.

“Our kids showed a lot of toughness, especially in the first half,” Cunningham said.  “I thought we did a great job trying to frustrate Delle Donne.  A player that is that good, you’re only going to keep her down for so long and she stepped up in the second half and made some tough shots and they went on their run.

“We just showed a lot of toughness. When we got down, our kids just seemed to play harder. We fought a little bit more and we found a way to climb back into it.”

VCU returns to the hardwood on Sunday as the Rams travel to Drexel for a Noon tipoff against the Dragons.