VAUGHN, RAMS HIT BOARDS, CRASH LONGWOOD, 69-43
12-30-06
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University junior Krystal Vaughn (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton-Eastern) (pictured) needed just 22 minutes to rack up game highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds and propel the Rams to a 69-43 triumph over Longwood Saturday at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

VCU halts a four-game losing streak with the win and improves to 7-4. Longwood has lost eight of nine to drop to 5-11.

Sophomore center Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va./ Great Bridge) also had 20 points, on 7-of-8 shooting, as well as seven boards for the Black and Gold.

Vaughn’s 14 rebounds established a new career high and punctuated a 52-33 Rams’ advantage on the glass, including 25-11 on the offensive end. Vaughn, a 6-1 forward, scored 17 points and ripped down 12 rebounds in the first 20 minutes alone to usher VCU to a 36-21 lead at intermission. Longwood had just 11 rebounds in the first half as a team.

The score marked the Rams’ largest margin of victory this season and provided VCU with its stingiest defensive effort. The Black and Gold also surrendered a season-low 14 turnovers while forcing 20 Longwood miscues.

VCU wasted little time in gaining control of the contest. After the Lancers’ Ashleigh Hollman canned a 3-pointer to knot the score at 5-5, the Rams embarked on a 10-2 burst, keyed by two Vaughn buckets and two free throws, to grab an eight-point lead with 14:03 showing. VCU never looked back and led the rest of the way.

Keiva Small provided one of Longwood’s few bright spots with 16 points and a career-high nine rebounds before fouling out late in the contest. Small was 7-of-16 from the field, but the rest of the Lancers combined to shoot 11-of-39 for the game.

VCU returns to the floor on Thursday, Jan. 4, when it welcomes 15-time and defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Old Dominion to the Alltel Pavilion at 7 p.m.