Final Score: VCU 61, Duquesne 54
Location: Siegel Center (Richmond, Va.)
Records: VCU 6-11 (2-3 Atlantic 10), Duquesne 7-9 (0-5 Atlantic 10)
 
The Short Story: VCU trailed Duquesne 50-43 heading into the fourth quarter but the Rams outscored the Dukes 18-4 in the fourth quarter to earn their second straight A-10 win.
 
OPENING TIP:

• VCU's leading scorer Mary-Anna Asare will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to injury
• Crespin recorded 14 points on a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line and 2-4 from beyond the arc. She added five rebounds in 33 minutes
• Makennah White added 11 points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range. She also tied a season-high with two steals
• Katarina Kneževic led the Rams with seven rebounds while adding nine points and a block in the effort
• Cyriah Griffin led VCU with four assists and added nine points and three rebounds
• Junior forward Lucy Ghaifan shot 4-of-6 from the field as she added eight points and five rebounds
• The Rams' bench outscored the Dukes 34-12
• VCU shot 7-of-17 from 3-point range while holding the Dukes to 9-of-31 from behind the arc
• VCU shot 18-of-22 from the free-throw line while Duquesne shot just 9-of-14 
• Alexis Bordas led the Dukes with 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• VCU and Duquesne traded blows in the first quarter and the game was tied 12-12 heading into the second
• With the game tied at 15-15, Duquesne went on an 8-0 run, capped off by a layup from Faith Walker to build a 23-15 lead with 5:09 left in the second quarter
• VCU responded with an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game at 23-23 thanks to a second-chance layup from Ghaifan. Duquesne would take a slight 30-27 lead into halftime
• The Dukes led for the entire third quarter but were unable to pull away from VCU. Their largest lead came at 45-36 with 4:14 remaining in the third. The Dukes held a 50-43 lead over VCU heading into the fourth
• The Rams went on a 15-3 run to close the game and White hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to give VCU a 54-51 lead with 1:13 remaining. It marked VCU's first lead of the game
• The Rams held the Dukes scoreless for the final 5:25 of the game and to four points in the fourth quarter

 
UP NEXT:
The Rams take on Rhode Island on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 6 pm for the Gold Rush game at the Siegel Center. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.