The Basics

• Score: Saint Louis 65, VCU 58
• Records: VCU (16-14, 7-9), Saint Louis (15-15, 7-9)
• Location: Richmond Coliseum – Richmond, Va.
• Short Story: The VCU Women's Basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to Saint Louis, 65-58, in the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Thursday afternoon. Isis Thorpe recorded a season-best 23 points and eight rebounds with Adaeze Alaeze adding 14 points and 10 rebounds.
  
  

How It Happened

• VCU held a lead in the opening minutes until Saint Louis' Sadie Stipanovich connected on a pair of free throws, giving the Billikens a lead they would maintain throughout the stanza.
• The Rams wouldn't go quietly before heading to the locker room, as Thorpe scored five points for the Rams in the closing seconds to cut SLU's halftime lead to three, 24-21.
• SLU opened the second half on a 5-0 run, extending their lead.  Both teams battled throughout the second half with VCU chipping away at SLU's lead.
• Thorpe knocked down a shot from behind the arc to cap a 6-0 run for the Rams, cutting SLU's lead to four, 46-42.
• With 1:39 remaining on the clock, Thorpe connected on another 3-pointer, but it wouldn't be enough as the Billikens closed out the game on a 7-2 run, securing a 65-58 win to advance to the quarterfinals tomorrow.

Quotable

• "It's a disappointing result for us, not what we were going after. have the utmost respect for Coach Stone and the Saint Louis program, they played really hard, and they executed down the stretch. We knew it was going to be a battle after our game out there. We wanted to be in the close game, and embrace the excitement of the tournament. We've been led all year by Adaeze and Isis and I thought they had an incredible game, both defensively and offensively." -- Head Coach Beth O'Boyle

Beyond the Box Score

• Thorpe sits fourth all-time with 138 3-pointers through just two seasons with the Black & Gold.
• Melanie Royster is fifth all-time in blocks (103) and finished tied for third with 64 blocks in a single-season.