Win vs. Winthrop: women’s basketball off to 2-0 start to the season

Adam Stern
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter

In VCU women’s basketball’s opening game of the season last Friday at High Point, the team didn’t secure a toughly fought victory until 1.4 seconds left in the game.

It wasn’t nearly as nerve-racking Wednesday.

Junior forward Courtney Hurt— the team’s one and only player on any of the All-CAA Preseason Teams as a Second Team selection— scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and paced the way for the Rams as the team cruised past Big South Conference opponent Winthrop in the team’s opening game on home court.

“It was great to be back in the Siegel Center,” head coach Beth Cunningham said. “All in all I think it’s a great way to start the season off here with a big win.”

The big win came in no small part due to Hurt, the Conyers, Ga. native who recorded her second double-double of the season in as many tries with the performance; this after she posted a team-best 10 double-doubles last season. She also was the only player to score double digits against Winthrop. Indeed Hurt was so Herculean one could make a case of her having beaten the Eagles nearly single handedly.

“I was just trying to get my teammate involved,” Hurt said of her performance. “I think I had a career high two assists this game, but I was looking for my teammates and letting the offense come to me.

The team lost its top three scorers last season through graduation and only returned Hurt and junior guard Jennifer Lane. But even with the loss of 47.3 points per game worth of production, the feeling around the team is so far, so good.

“I mean it’s more of the same this year,” Hurt said. “I’m having to be more of a leader of course … I’m captain this year, so I’m just trying to lead and direct and make sure I do what I need to do because I’m still working on being a leader.”

She led just fine vs. the Eagles. Hurt opened up the game by swishing her first shot— and three-point attempt— of the game; she reached double digits in the point’s column with 7:40 left in the first half.

Hurt’s huge performance was joined in conjunction with the only other returning player this year’s team has, Lane, who finished with eight points, two assists and two steals. This came after Lane finished with a career-best 14 points vs. High Point to go along with five rebounds and six assists. She also showed a synergy with Hurt that could cause profound problems for opposing defenses all year long.

With VCU’s record now standing at 2-0 in the young season, the squad now shifts their attention to Sunday’s showdown at Virginia Tech. The Rams ran riot on the Hokies last season in the squad’s opening game of the season, winning 72-58.

“We want to get better and improve on areas that [we need to work on] coming away from the first few games,” Cunningham said of this weekend’s matchup. “Every day is a work in progress trying to get better.”

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