VUU Remains Undefeated at Barco-Stevens Hall, Advances to Second Round of Atlantic Region Tournament

VUU’s Kiana Johnson Photo By: Juan McCall

Richmond, VA – The Virginia Union University women’s basketball team shut out the Crimson Hawks of Indiana (Pa.) University 91-72 on their home court of Barco-Stevens Hall on Friday evening. The No. 1 Panthers advance to the second round of the NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament and will play Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m.

VUU’s Kiana Johnson led all players in scoring with 27 points, adding 10 assists. Teammates Lady Walker and Taylor White both recorded double-doubles with 24 points and 14 rebounds, 17 points and 17 rebounds, respectively.

Leading the Crimson Hawks, Megan Smith scored 22 points while Carolyn Appleby and Leslie Stapleton accounted for fourteen points each. Marina Wareham notched 12 points in the contest.

As a team, Virginia Union dominated second chance points 46-24 over Indiana (Pa.) and in fast break points 30-15. The Crimson Hawks were outscored in the paint 46-24 by the Panthers.

Indiana (Pa.) hit the board first with a layup by Alexis Aiken and extended a 5-0 run after Leslie Stapleton drained a shot from the arch. The Panthers trailed until the 3:03 mark in the first quarter when Kiana Johnson hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, 18-18.

In the second quarter, the Crimson Hawks kept the pace as Smith hit three and turned around to score both of her free throws on the next possession. IUP gained their final lead of 25-24 at 8:43, just before VUU took control and never looked back. By halftime, the score grew to 47-38 as the Panthers continued to build their lead.

Smith started out the half with her third three-point sink of the evening, but Panthers Rahni Bell would answer with a three of her own. At 6:24, Walker snagged an offensive rebound and went back up for a layup to bring VUU’s lead 59-44. In the final three minutes of the quarter, the Crimson Hawks tried a 7-1 streak over the Panthers for a 68-56 score.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Stapleton and Appleby early in the fourth wouldn’t create enough momentum to overturn the Panthers on their home court. Taking advantage of twenty-three points in the fourth quarter solidified Virginia Union’s 91-72 victory over Indiana (Pa.).

The Indiana (Pa.) Crimson Hawks end their season 21-9 while the Virginia Union Panthers advance to the second round of the Atlantic Region Tournament with a 26-2 record. The Panthers will advance to play the winner of West Chester/Wheeling Jesuit.