HARRISONBURG, Va. –   Virginia Commonwealth University forced 27 turnovers and held Hofstra University to just six points over the first 12 minutes of the second half to defeat the Pride, 51-38, Friday evening in the quarterfinals of the 2010 CAA Women's Basketball Championship at the JMU Convocation Center.

With the win, VCU improves to 20-11on the season and advances to the semifinals for the third straight year.  The Rams will face second-seeded and host James Madison University on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet.  Hofstra falls to 19-13 on the year.

"Our focus coming into the game was to really come after them defensively and rebound the basketball," said VCU Head Coach Beth Cunningham.   "A lot of their boards were at the end in some scramble-type situations.  We had a tough loss at their place several weeks ago.  Our team knew we were better than how we played up there.  We wanted to come out and defend and rebound the ball and that really set the tone for us throughout the game."

Senior guard Kita Waller registered a game-high 18 points for VCU.  Sophomore forward Courtney Hurt added 13 points and senior forward D'Andra Moss chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.

Hofstra rookie Shante Evans posted her league-leading 15th double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.  Jess Fuller added eight points and eight boards for the Pride.

After trailing 23-19 at the half, Hofstra pulled within two points on three occasions to start the second stanza.  The Pride cut the VCU lead to 26-24 with 16:20 showing before the Rams responded with a 12-0 run spanning eight minutes and went on top 38-24 following a pair of Jessica Taylor free throws.  The Black & Gold never looked back and led by as many as 19 points the rest of the way.

The first half proved to be a defensive battle as neither team led by more than six points.  Hofstra committed 14 turnovers and VCU had eight, while the Pride shot just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from the field and the Rams managed just 28.6 percent (8-of-28) shooting.  VCU had a chance to add to its lead but hit just 4-of-11 from the free throw line.

Trailing 14-13 with 8:21 remaining, VCU scored seven of the next nine points and went on top 20-16 following a 3-pointer by Jennifer Lane with 4:54 showing.

Waller gave VCU its largest lead of the half at 23-17 after hitting a triple from the left wing with 1:31 to go.  However, Sam Brigham answered with a jumper on the following possession and pulled the Pride within four points at the break.

With the victory, VCU posted its third straight 20-win campaign and fifth in program history.