RICHMOND, Va. – It came down to the wire in Richmond on Tuesday night, but the VCU Rams would claim the win, 69-63, over American to cap off nonconference road trips for the Eagles.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Molly Driscoll found her groove again and capped off the night with 24 points. She matched her career-high of five three pointers in a single game. She also finished with a career-high seven made free throws on the outing.
• Madisyn Moore-Nicholson, clocked out with 14 points on the night while Anna Rescifina logged 10 points.
• Charlotte Tuhy finished off on the boards with 8 rebounds, leading all players on the hardwood. Tuhy, along with Moore-Nicholson finished with four fouls each.
• At halftime, VCU had 15 bench points to AU's nil, and at the final buzzer it was 41to two. The squads were even 12-all in points in the paint in the first half and the split was 36 to 16 with the Rams holding the advantage at the close of business.
• Lucy Ghaifan led offensively for the Rams on the night with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting.

How it Happened

• The Eagles were out to an 11-7 lead midway through the opening frame, Driscoll with seven points and Moore-Nicholson with four. Driscoll even grabbing an assist on a basket Moore-Nicholson scored in the paint.
• VCU closed in on the lead, tying the game at 13-all with 2:50 to play before taking the lead on a three point basket a minute later. The Rams held the Eagles scoreless through the rest of the frame, up 18-13 through one.
• AU struggled in the first, shooting just 29.4 percent from the floor versus VCU's 42.9 percent to open the game.
• The second started out as a low-scoring affair, each team only scoring four points through the first five minutes; this drought was broken by a Rams' three-pointer at the 4:53 mark to put the home team up 25-17.
• The first half closed with back-to-back three point buckets from Lexi Salazar to have AU trailing by two possessions: the scoreline 32-28. Driscoll and Moore-Nicholson each had nine points at the break.
• The third period was another slow start, each team scoring just two points in the opening two minutes, a jumper doing it for VCU while AU's came from Moore-Nicholson free throws.
• The game got knotted up, 37-all, at the 4:46 mark of the third thanks to a layup from Rescifina out of the media timeout, but the Rams responded immediately with a three pointer. Rescifina, down on the other end, made a layup, scoring four points back-to-back for AU.
• Another Salazar three had AU up 42-40, and after some back and forth, free throws from Rescifina put American back in the lead with 52 seconds left in the third. Then, a pair of made free-throws from Tuhy had AU up 48-45 with 10 to play. Rescifina was on eight points.
• Tied again, at 51-all, with 7:54 to go, AU won a challenge to get the ball, and Moore-Nicholson earned a pair of free throws, sinking the second for the narrow lead.
• Driscoll made three long-range shots in the first four minutes of the fourth, collecting nine points on three pointers, carrying 23 points, and putting AU up 60-58 with five to play for it all. It was tied back up, 60-all with four to go.
• The Eagles found themselves in foul trouble, Tuhy with four fouls and both Salazar and Moore-Nicholson with three with 2:35 to play. The fouls sent the Rams to the free throw line, and the Rams were up 64-61 with two minutes to play.
• The Rams extended the lead to a two-possession game, up 66-61 with 40.9 to play. In the end, the Rams would defend their home court, taking the game 69-63 over the Eagles.

On the Horizon
For the final game before the holiday break–and final nonconference matchup–American will host UMBC on Sunday, Dec. 21 in Bender. The Eagles will begin Patriot League play on New Years Eve in Baltimore against Loyola Md. Both games will be available to stream live on ESPN+.

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