RICHMOND, Va. – Senior guard Kita Waller tied a school record with a career-high 35 points and led Virginia Commonwealth University to a 75-63 win against UNC Wilmington Thursday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

VCU improves to 14-6 overall and 7-1 in Colonial Athletic Association, while UNC Wilmington slips to 6-13, 1-7 in conference play.

Senior forward D'Andra Moss (right) added 17 points and nine rebounds for VCU, while sophomore forward Courtney Hurt registered her fifth double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 boards.

UNC Wilmington junior guard/forward Brittany Blackwell contributed team-highs of 22 points and four steals, and senior guard Greta Luksyte chipped in 13 points for the Seahawks.

"The most important thing for us was to get back on a winning track after a tough loss at Drexel that went down to the wire," said VCU Head Coach Beth Cunningham.  "I thought we did a good job tonight of refocusing our efforts on what we need to do in order to be successful.

"It's been a couple of years since we have swept UNC Wilmington.  That was one thing that we talked about coming into the game.  We obviously escaped with a win down there earlier this year but our focus tonight was to just beat them at home."

The first 13 minutes of the contest featured six ties and eight lead changes as the teams battled to a 21-21 tie in what looked to be an evenly match opening period.

UNC Wilmington went up 23-21 on a jumper by junior center Martha White on the following possession and it was the last time the Seahawks would hold a lead the rest of the game.

VCU locked down on defense and reeled off 17 straight points over the next 6:30 to take a 38-23 advantage with 28 seconds to go before the break.

The Seahawks stopped the VCU run and cut into the lead with a jumper by White on their final possession of the opening period and the Rams took a 38-25 advantage into the locker room.

VCU used an 11-4 spurt to open the second half and went on top 49-29 on a layup by Waller with 14:33 remaining.  The Rams led by as many as 21 points over the next five minutes.

UNC Wilmington pulled within 11 on a jumper by Whitney Simmons with 2:18 showing but it was as close as the Seahawks would get the remainder of the night as VCU hit 10-of-12 from the free throw line to close the game.

VCU scored a season-high 44 points off of 29 UNC Wilmington turnovers and held a 33-25 margin on the boards.

"The defensive pressure is something we continue to focus on," said Cunningham.  "We just try to take teams out of their rhythm on offense and take them away from what they want to do.  Ball pressure is critical for us.  We were able to force turnovers and it obviously translated into points on the offensive end.  That will continue to be a key for us as we head down the final stretch of the season."

VCU returns to action Sunday with a 2 p.m. matchup against Georgia State at the Verizon Wireless Arena.