Twelve months, hundreds of games and thousands of shots later, very little has changed. Today, as in 2008, Liberty forward Megan Frazee is the pre-eminent player and VCU’s Beth Cunningham the most conspicuously successful coach in state women’s basketball.

Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team didn’t win in its NCAA tournament debut against Rutgers. But the Rams did the next best thing. They proved that they belonged. VCU chopped an 18-point second-half deficit to six before running out of time and magic yesterday on the Scarlet Knights’ home floor. Rutgers, seeded seventh in the Oklahoma City Region, escaped with a 57-51 victory that left the winners more subdued than the losers.

The game wasn’t four minutes old before Rutgers had a seven-point lead on the VCU Rams. The Scarlet Knights looked as if they intended to settle the issue before the Rams realized playing an NCAA tournament game is not all that different from playing any other game. “That was not necessarily how we wanted to start,“ said VCU coach Beth Cunningham.

If experience is indeed the best teacher, today’s NCAA women’s tournament game between Virginia Commonwealth University and Rutgers will match third-graders against doctoral candidates. VCU is appearing in the NCAA playoffs for the first time in the program’s 34-year history.

Different feelings, same preparation VCU, UR women put emotion behind them as they train The women’s basketball teams from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond crossed paths, briefly, while dealing with the powerful emotions spawned on Selection Monday. VCU, bound for the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program’s 34-year history, yesterday began its descent from the heights of elation. And descend it must. The Rams, 26-6 and seeded 10th in the Oklahoma City Region, have drawn a first-round date with seventh-seeded Rutgers on the Scarlet Knights’ home floor.

VCU given first berth Rams join Cavaliers and Flames as state teams in tournament How long does it take to travel from ashen disappointment to unrestrained glee? The Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team made the trip in slightly more than 48 hours. The Rams received the first NCAA tournament invitation in their program’s 34-year history last night when they were placed into the Oklahoma City Region as an at-large entry. VCU (26-6) was assigned a No. 10 seed. It will face No. 7 seed Rutgers (19-12) on Saturday on the Scarlet Knights’ floor in Piscataway, N.J.

Evans, JMU reach final; VCU hopes for NCAA bid Now comes the hard part for Virginia Commonwealth University’s women’s basketball team. Now comes the wait. Dawn Evans, James Madison University’s irrepressible sophomore point guard, scored 23 points and handed out six assists yesterday to carry her Dukes to a 65-57 victory over VCU in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

Virginia Commonwealth University put its best foot forward and punted William and Mary out of the Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball tournament. The second-seeded VCU Rams, chasing the first CAA championship and the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history, dashed to a 25-point halftime lead and coasted thereafter while pounding the Tribe 72-52 in yesterday’s tournament quarterfinals at James Madison University. In this afternoon’s 2:30 semifinal, VCU (26-5) will face JMU, a 51-49 quarterfinal winner over Northeastern. VCU swept its two games with JMU during the regular season. Drexel will challenge Old Dominion at 1 in the other semifinal.

Kenny Brooks understands not only the X’s and O’s of basketball but also those of chess. Specifically, he understands that sometimes you must sacrifice a few pawns to protect your queen. Brooks held gimpy point guard Dawn Evans, one of the nation’s most prolific scorers, out of yesterday’s showdown with CAA rival Virginia Commonwealth University. The result was entirely predictable. VCU, wielding its defense like a scimitar, knocked the Dukes out of a three-way tie for first place with a 61-43 victory.

Health and depth could—and likely will—play decisive roles in today’s key CAA women’s basketball showdown between Virginia Commonwealth University and Old Dominion. Both clubs are hobbling, which is “not surprising,“ said Rams coach Beth Cunningham. “It’s that time of year.“ Injury and attrition have pared ODU’s active roster to eight, only seven of whom are close to 100 percent. VCU has issues of its own. The Rams are paying close attention to several players—none more so than senior guard/ forward Kita Waller. Concern over a troublesome lower-back condition limited Waller to only a few seconds in Thursday’s victory over William and Mary.

Health and depth could—and likely will—play decisive roles in today’s key CAA women’s basketball showdown between Virginia Commonwealth University and Old Dominion. Both clubs are hobbling, which is “not surprising,“ said Rams coach Beth Cunningham. “It’s that time of year.“ Injury and attrition have pared ODU’s active roster to eight, only seven of whom are close to 100 percent. VCU has issues of its own. The Rams are paying close attention to several players—none more so than senior guard/ forward Kita Waller. Concern over a troublesome lower-back condition limited Waller to only a few seconds in Thursday’s victory over William and Mary.

D’Andra Moss, a 6-0 forward from Duluth, Ga., averages 9.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. D’Andra Moss was inclined to lead from the moment she first set foot on the Virginia Commonwealth University campus. Her teammates, however, weren’t always inclined to follow. “I’ve always been the talking type,“ said Moss, a multitalented junior forward. “Some people might say that sometimes I talk too much—and you know what? They might be right. But that’s me. That’s who I am. I want to talk. I want to keep everybody motivated. I want to keep everybody level. I want to keep everybody humble.“

NORFOLK—Once again, the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team failed to close a blockbuster deal. Old Dominion’s Lady Monarchs, the winners of 17 consecutive Colonial Athletic Association championships, rallied from an eight-point deficit with just under four minutes to play and a four-point deficit with less than a minute remaining to stun VCU 69-68 last night in the CAA opener for both teams.

The Spiders knew what was coming: a floorburns-and-bruises kind of game that no one—not even the winner—enjoys. “It was a long game—I mean, a really long game,“ said University of Richmond point guard Brittani Shells in the glad-it’s-over-with aftermath of last night’s 56-48 homecourt victory over crosstown rival Virginia Commonwealth University. “It was rough and physical and after a while I started thinking, ‘Oh, man. Is this thing ever going to end?‘“

Jennifer Lane has faced and defeated this challenge before. The Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball program hopes, fervently, that she can do so again. Lane, the Rams’ freshman point guard, is the new kid on the block, literally as well as figuratively. VCU’s success will hinge, at least in part, on her ability to steer a team laden with junior and senior talent. The task is at best daunting. Lane knows the drill: She must stride confidently while taking care not to step on upperclass toes. Her hold on the reins must be simultaneously firm and sensitive.