Mid-Season Conference Review....

It's been a half-season with many more surprises than expected results.

Let's compare the preseason Atlantic 10 poll with records as of February 1st:

PRESEASON POLL:                   CURRENT LEAGUE STANDINGS:
1) Dayton                                        1) George Washington (8-0)
2) George Washington                    2) Dayton (7-1)
3) Saint Joseph's                             3) Fordham (7-2)
4) St. Bonaventure                          4) Duquesne (6-3)
5) Fordham                                    5) Richmond (5-3)
6) Richmond                                   6) VCU (5-4)
7) Duquesne                                   7) Rhode Island (4-4)
8) La Salle                                      8) Saint Louis (4-5)
9) Saint Louis                                 9T) George Mason (3-5)
10) VCU                                        9T) Saint Joseph's (3-5)
11) George Mason                        11) UMass (2-6)
12) Davidson                                 12) La Salle (2-6)
13) Rhode Island                           13) St. Bonaventure (2-7)
14) UMass                                     14) Davidson (1-8)

BIGGEST SURPRISE (Disappointment): St. Bonaventure---Picked to finish fourth, the Bonnies went 10-3 in non-conference play and won its A-10 opener with UMass. Then they lost seven straight, with six of the seven lost by double digits. Katie Healy's point per game average is currently down two from last year (14.3 vs. 16.5), and the Bonnies as a whole are shooting 28.2 percent from three-point range. It will get no easier as the Bonnies must face George Washington, Duquesne, and Thursday, Fordham on the road. The schedule makes it tough to believe St. Bonaventure can go on a big run to finish .500 in conference play.

BIGGEST SURPRISE (Positive): Rhode Island---Picked to finish near the bottom of the Atlantic 10, new head coach Daynia La-Force has these Rams believing. They were 8-4 in non-conference play, giving them more wins before conference play began than they enjoyed all of last season. The next four games could help determine their season. The Rams host rival UMass, go to St. Bonaventure, then host both Saint Joseph's and Fordham. They literally could win all four, lose all four, or fall somewhere in between. Charise Wilson is making her case for Freshman of The Year, leading Rhode Island in scoring at 15.9 points per game.

Other Observations:

---Saint Joseph's was runner-up for "Biggest Surprise: Disappointment", but, with a win Saturday at Davidson, the Hawks are 3-5 and have the talent and coaching experience to find their way to .500 and avoid Play-In Wednesday at the A-10 Tournament. Their first order of business, though, is a good old-fashioned "Big 5" rivalry, hosting La Salle Wednesday. The Explorers will be sky high, having their six-game losing streak ended Saturday night in Richmond at VCU. If La Salle plays with the desperation that they did Saturday night, the Hawks may flip places with the Explorers in the standings, and be back in the "Play-In" conversation.

---Wednesday's City Showdown between VCU and Richmond at the Robins Center looms very, very large. Now, the Spiders are a half-game ahead of the Rams for fifth place, while just a half-game behind Duquesne for the fourth and final "bye until Friday" at the tournament. This game could go either way. VCU now needs a win to try to start a new winning streak (they're 2-2, alternating between win and loss the past four games), while Richmond paced themselves nicely through a difficult week that saw them face, and lose to, Dayton in a midday Wednesday game, then hit the road for a rare Friday night outing at Rhode Island, coming away with a tight four-point win. The winner Wednesday stays alive for the "top four" seeds, the loser, if Richmond, could be two games out of fourth in the loss column. A VCU win, coupled with a win at Duquesne next Saturday, and the Rams are right back in the conversation.

---Dayton comes to the Nation's Capital next Sunday, February 8th to battle George Washington, who handed the Flyers their lone conference loss, at home, in their league opener four weeks ago. Dayton is playing better now than then, but George Washington is on fire, winners of their last 17 games. The game airs at 12PM on CBS Sports Network. Watch live or DVR it. It could be a preview of the Sunday, March 8th Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship Game at the Richmond Coliseum.

IF TOURNAMENT BEGAN TODAY:

Wednesday March 4th:
4:30PM: #13 St. Bonaventure vs. #12 La Salle
7PM: #14 Davidson vs. #11 UMass (if tie with La Salle is broken head-to-head)

Thursday March 5th:
11:30AM: #8 Saint Louis vs. #9 George Mason or Saint Joseph's
2PM: #5 Richmond vs. St. Bonaventure/La Salle winner
4:30PM: #7 Rhode Island vs. #10 Saint Joseph's or George Mason
7PM: #6 VCU vs. Davidson/UMass winner

Friday March 6th:
11AM: #1 George Washington vs. Saint Louis/GMU--SJU winner
2PM: #4 Duquesne vs. Richmond/St. Bona--La Salle winner
4:30PM: #2 Dayton vs. Rhode Island/SJU--GMU winner
7PM: #3 Fordham vs. VCU/Davidson--UMass winner

Saturday March 7th:
SEMIFINALS at 11AM, 1:30PM

Friday March 8th:
CHAMPIONSHIP at 1PM

The teams and seeds will change, but the format above is what we'll experience March 4th through 8th at the Richmond Coliseum. We hope you will join us!! Buy YOUR tickets at the link at the top of this page.

WEEKEND GAMES AND PRE-GAME NOTES....

(Click on links for game summaries as they become available....)

FRIDAY:

Richmond 54, Rhode Island 50

SATURDAY:

George Washington 87, George Mason 52
St. Bonaventure 77, UMass 57
Saint Joseph's 57, Davidson 52
Duquesne 56, Fordham 46
Dayton 87, Saint Louis 72
La Salle 74, VCU 65

We'll have score updates and finals throughout the afternoon and evening from all the games on @TheRVASportsNet on Twitter, so follow us for ALL things Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball as we approach 30 days away from the Atlantic 10 Tournament LIVE at the Richmond Coliseum starting March 4th!

NOTES:
--George Washington looks for win #17 in a row, would finish first half of conference schedule unblemished with win in Fairfax, Patriots are in midst of three-game losing streak.

--UMass has already doubled their conference and overall win totals from a year ago. Bonnies won their conference opener at home against Minutewomen, have lost has seven conference games.

--Saint Joseph's in unusual position, trying to avoid the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Wednesday, as seeds #11 through #14 try to play their way into First Round Thursday.

--Saint Louis has beaten Saint Joseph's, La Salle, and handed Fordham their only conference loss in their current three-game winning streak, but Dayton has won six straight since opening conference play with loss to league leader George Washington four weeks ago.

--Duquesne, with win and VCU loss later Saturday, would take sole possession of fourth place in the A-10. Fordham looks to keep pace with both GW ahead of them, Dayton one-half game behind them.

--VCU stood 5-3 at this same point in conference play a year ago, then lost to Saint Joseph's and Dayton on the road before beating rival Richmond at home to go to 6-5. They finished 9-7 in league play. La Salle has lost six straight conference games since opening league play with win over newcomer Davidson.

Richmond at Rhode Island Tonight: Photos From Wednesday with Dayton

The Richmond Spiders and Rhode Island Rams are in a tie for sixth place going into tonight's Atlantic 10 contest between the teams in Kingston.

The Rams will look to use their full-court press to limit Richmond in what should be a very evenly matched game.

The winner joins, for at least 24 hours, VCU and Duquesne in what will be a three-way tie for fourth in the conference midway through the regular season schedule.

PHOTO GALLERY: For a look back at the Dayton/Richmond game Wednesday, CLICK HERE to go to an RVA Sports Network-affiliated Facebook page to relive all the action!

(Janelle Hubbard and Richmond look to get the road win at Rhode Island Friday night!)

WEDNESDAY FINALS....

Dayton 76, Richmond 62
VCU 70, George Mason 66
Duquesne 76, St. Bonaventure 63
Fordham 66, Davidson 45

Thursday:
Saint Louis 52, Saint Joseph's 51

NEWS: Players of The Week, Wednesday Schedule, Our LIVE Coverage....

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

Jonquel Jones is on a tear the likes of few college basketball players, men or women, at any level.

The George Washington junior forward, and Naismith Player of the Year candidate, was named Atlantic 10 Player of The Week for the sixth time this season, as she led the #24 Colonials to sole possession of first place in the conference. George Washington has now won 16 consecutive games.

Jones averaged 17 points and 16.5 rebounds in wins over Duquesne and La Salle, registering her 12th double-double of the year (and seventh straight double-double) against the Explorers with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

Jackie Kemph of Saint Louis was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of The Year. The guard had a career-high 20 points against La Salle, then had four key assists and three important steals in the Billikens' comeback win over Fordham, handing the Rams their first conference loss.

WEDNESDAY LIVE COVERAGE:

RVA Sports Network will be LIVE at TWO Atlantic 10 games Wednesday, beginning at noon at the Robins Center as the Richmond Spiders battle the Dayton Flyers. The game features teams currently in third (Dayton) and fourth (Richmond) place in the conference.

Then, at 7pm, we'll be live at the Siegel Center when George Mason, currently in eighth place in the Atlantic 10 at 3-3 will battle the Rams of VCU. Coach Beth O'Boyle's squad is in a three-way tie for fifth place going into the game at 4-3.

Follow @TheRVASportsNet on Twitter for LIVE real-time updates during BOTH games on Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE:

Dayton (5-1, 14-4) at Richmond (4-2, 12-7), 12pm
Saint Joseph's (2-4, 6-12) at Saint Louis (3-4, 10-10), NOW THURSDAY, 12:30pm
George Mason (3-3, 11-8) at VCU (4-3, 13-7), 7pm
Duquesne (4-3, 12-8) at St. Bonaventure (1-6, 11-9), 7pm
Fordham (6-1, 14-6) at Davidson (1-6, 5-15), 7pm

(above photo courtesy of GWSports.com)

SATURDAY FINALS....

Dayton 75, VCU 56 (Box Score HERE)
Richmond 64, UMass 44 (Michael Shafer now Spiders' winningest coach w/167 wins)
Saint Joseph's 66, St. Bonaventure 48 (Cindy Griffin wins 300th career game as coach)
George Washington 67, La Salle 48 (GW wins 16th straight, 7-0 in league, 18-2 overall)
Duquesne 83, Davidson 47
Rhode Island 57, George Mason 45
Saint Louis 54, Fordham 50 (first conference loss for the Rams)

SATURDAY LINEUP....

All 14 Atlantic 10 women's basketball teams are in action on a busy Saturday as we approach the midway point of the conference season. Links are to game previews....

Dayton (4-1, 13-4) at VCU (4-2, 13-6), 1pm
Davidson (1-5, 5-14) at Duquesne (3-3, 11-8), 1pm
George Washington (6-0, 17-2) at La Salle (1-5, 10-9), 1pm
UMass (2-4, 8-10) at Richmond (3-2, 11-7), 2pm
Rhode Island (3-3, 11-7) at George Mason (3-2, 11-7), 2pm
St. Bonaventure (1-5, 11-8) at Saint Joseph's (1-5, 5-12), 2pm
Fordham (6-0, 14-5) at Saint Louis (2-4, 9-10), 4pm (CBS Sports Network)

WEDNESDAY CONFERENCE ACTION....UPDATED WITH FINALS

Six games on the docket for Wednesday night as we really delve into the meat of the Atlantic 10 schedule now with the 2015 Women's Basketball Tournament starting just SIX weeks from today here at the Richmond Coliseum.  Here's the lineup:

FINALS:
Fordham 65, UMass 42 (Rams now 6-0, 14-5; Minutewomen fall to 2-4, 8-10)
VCU 61, St. Bonaventure 51 (Rams now 4-2, 13-6, Bonnies fall to 1-5, 11-8)
Richmond 56, Davidson 48 (Spiders now 3-2, 11-7 overall)
#24 George Washington 83, Duquesne 56 (Colonials win 15th straight, now 6-0, 17-2)
Dayton 77, Rhode Island 33 (Flyers now 4-1 in conference, 13-4 overall)
Saint Louis 76, La Salle 47 (Billikens go to 2-4 in league play, Explorers fall to 1-5)

NOTES:
--The Colonials cracked the Top 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll on Tuesday, and go for their 15th consecutive win tonight against a Duquesne squad coming off a win over faltering Saint Joseph's to move into a four-way tie for fourth in the conference. Statistics say this should be a shoot-out, as the Dukes and Colonials rank 2-3 in league scoring offense, averaging 74.9 and 73.4 points per game, respectively. But George Washington's defense is stingier, allowing less than 59 points per contest, while Duquesne is giving up around 69.

--The Rhode Island defense, second in the league averaging just 58.3 points given up per game, faces its stiffest conference test as Dayton leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense at 75.2 points per game. Andrea Hoover is second in the conference in scoring at exactly 20 points per game, Ally Malott right behind her in seventh at 15.5 ppg.

--Richmond comes off a huge 28-point win over George Mason to draw even in the conference, but now must go to a scrappy Davidson squad still living off the high of their first-ever Atlantic 10 conference victory, 53-50 over Saint Louis. This has all the makings of a trap game for the Spiders, who return home to host UMass on Saturday.

--Tonight's Billikens at Explorers matchup is almost a desperation "must-win" for both teams. No one wants to go to 1-5 in the conference. Tonight's loser would have to run the table the rest of the regular season just to hope for one of the top four seeds, all who receive a bye into the quarterfinals. Look for Sadie Stipanovich (14.1 ppg) for Saint Louis and Micahya Owens of La Salle (14.0 ppg) to hold leadership roles to gain a key win. The Billikens had to travel, we'll see if the Explorers can use home-court advantage. La Salle is 5-2 at home, but on a two-game home losing streak, both in A-10 play (Fordham, George Mason).

--VCU has to be wary of the Bonnies, last year's #2 seed in the conference tournament, after starting the season at 10-3 in non-conference play, have stumbled out of the gate to a 1-4 start, and, too, will be somewhat desperate as they take the home floor in Olean, New York. Olean is 74 miles south of Buffalo, the former home of Rams head coach Beth O'Boyle when she was associate head coach for Canisius before taking the reins at Stony Brook for three years prior to her Richmond arrival. The Rams are the opposite of their team from last year where Robyn Parks led the way in scoring almost every night. You never know who in this ensemble cast will step up. VCU looks to stay in the tight fourth-place race with a win tonight.

George Washington Cracks Top 25....

For the first time in seven years, the Colonials of George Washington have entered the Top 25.

George Washington, in the midst of a 14-game winning streak, was ranked 24th by USA Today in their Division I Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

See the complete story HERE.

See the complete Top 25 HERE.

Familiar Names Grab Player of The Week Honors....

The storybook season of Jonquel Jones (George Washington) continues, while Preseason Player of the Year Andrea Hoover (Dayton) joins her as the conference hands out Co-Players of the Week honors.

Find out more, including who is the Rookie of The Week, by CLICKING HERE!

NOTE: There are six games on tap for Wednesday. The schedule is below:

UMass (2-3, 8-9) at Fordham (5-0, 13-5), 12pm
Richmond (2-2, 10-7) at Davidson (1-4, 5-13), 7pm
VCU (3-2, 12-6) at St. Bonaventure (1-4, 11-7), 7pm
Saint Louis (1-4, 8-10) at La Salle (1-4, 10-8), 7pm
Duquesne (3-2, 11-7) at George Washington (5-0, 16-2), 7pm
Rhode Island (3-2, 11-6) at Dayton (3-1, 12-4), 7pm

Sunday Finals...

Richmond 77, George Mason 49
Davidson 53, Saint Louis 50 (first win in Atlantic 10 conference history for Wildcats)
Fordham 60 VCU 51
George Washington 69, UMass 54
Rhode Island 55, La Salle 54 (OT)
Duquesne 63, Saint Joseph's 54
Dayton 86, St. Bonaventure 70

LIVE COVERAGE: Richmond Limits Brown, Knocks Off George Mason

When you're facing the fifth leading scorer in Division I women's college basketball, how do you approach it?  How about a throwback to high school geometry.

Head Coach Michael Shafer and his staff at the University of Richmond devised a plan and sent their defensive specialist, Lauren Tolson, onto the court to stop George Mason's Taylor Brown, who averaged 23.5 points per game coming into Sunday's noon matinee against the Spiders at the Robins Center. By game's end, a disappointed Brown left with her lowest point total of the season, 10, as Richmond stymied her, and, by extension, the Patriot offense, en route to a 77-49 Atlantic 10 victory.

"What we tried to do was make her a one-directional player," Shafer said after the game. "In whatever area we were going to be in, we were going to be there, make her go one direction, and have help there."

Tolson spearheaded the defensive charge, limiting Brown to a 3-of-15 shooting performance from the field. The Patriots, who feed off Brown, struggled as a whole, shooting 35.7% for the game, while the Spiders were 25-of-54 from the floor, and, more importantly, 21-of-23 at the free throw line. George Mason, who usually gets to the line about 30 times per game, only made three of ten shots from the line.

Tolson and teammate Janelle Hubbard led Richmond (2-2, 10-7), each with 18 points, while Liz Brown added 15, Olivia Healy had 12 and Genevieve Okoro tallied 11. Rebounding was also a key for Richmond, as Hubbard, Tolson and Healy combined for 17 rebounds from the guard position, helping the Spiders outrebound the Patriots 41-28.

"I think my defense feeds my offense," Tolson explained. "Getting stops and knowing I'm guarding very good players gives me motivation to step up, hit threes, and get my teammates involved."

The Patriots fell to 3-2 in conference play, 11-7 overall, and head coach Nyla Milleson saw today as one more dip in a long road, as this team, and the program, continue to seek cohesiveness and identity as their ascension in the Atlantic 10 continues. Many quickly forget this is only the second season for George Mason in the conference.

"We're still trying to understand, day in and day out, possession in and possession out, and with that process comes some inconsistency," Milleson noted. "Today, give Richmond a lot of credit. They took us out of the flow of our offense. I thought our guarding wasn't too bad, but they hit some tough shots the first half, and then we give up 23 free throws."

The Spiders came out strong, taking an early 14-4 lead in the first six minutes. The Patriots cut the lead to five on four occasions before intermission, but no lower. A Hubbard trey at the buzzer made the halftime margin ten at 34-24.

"What I was most pleased with was not the start of the game, but the way we started the second half," Shafer said. "We've really struggled in the second half. We've let people back into games, and I didn't think we did that tonight."

The Spiders opened the second half with an 8-2 run in the first 92 seconds. What turned out to be George Mason's final run followed, cutting the lead to seven at 42-35, but Richmond roared to another run of 11-0, the lead was 18 with 13:12 left. Richmond kept the Patriots well at bay the remainder of the game.

Richmond travels to Davidson, who won their first-ever Atlantic 10 conference game Sunday over Saint Louis, for a 7pm game Wednesday, then return to the Robins Center to face UMass Saturday at 2pm.

George Mason, meanwhile, is off until Saturday, when they host Rhode Island at 2pm, before returning to Richmond to face VCU next Wednesday, January 28th, at 7pm.

LOCAL NOTE: Micaela Parson, graduate from Monacan (pictured below), converted on a three-point play in the game's final seconds.

SUNDAY: A Full Day of Action, Our Live Coverage, and More!

All fourteen Atlantic 10 teams are in action on this Sunday. RVA Sports Network is live at the Robins Center as Richmond welcomes George Mason for a noon tip-off. In their last meeting here a year ago, the game went overtime before the Spiders prevailed.

Follow us on Twitter at @TheRVASportsNet for real-time updates from the Robins Center!

A total of four games, including Spiders/Patriots, all being televised today. The complete lineup of games and broadcast information is below (records noted are current conference records):

George Mason (3-1) at Richmond (1-2), 12pm, (ESPNU)
Davidson (0-4) at Saint Louis (1-3), 2pm
George Washington (4-0) at UMass (2-2), 2pm (CBS Sports Network)
La Salle (1-3) at Rhode Island (2-2), 2pm
VCU (3-1) at Fordham (4-0), 2pm
Saint Joseph's (1-3) at Duquesne (2-2), 4pm (CBS Sports Network)
Dayton (2-1) at St. Bonaventure (1-3), 5pm (NBC Sports Network)

WEEKNIGHT FINALS AND SCHEDULE

(Click on links for game highlights, box scores and more...)

MONDAY:

VCU 59, Saint Louis 54

WEDNESDAY:

George Mason 68, St. Bonaventure 55 (OT)
Penn 49, Richmond 47

THURSDAY:

VCU 62, Davidson 53
George Washington 59, Rhode Island 49
Fordham 57, Saint Joseph's 47
UMass 71, La Salle 68
Duquesne 77, Saint Louis 64

Weekend Action....

(Click on links for box scores, game summaries, and video highlights where available...)

SATURDAY:

George Washington 77, Richmond 67 (Colonials win 12th straight game, now 3-0 in A-10)
UMass 65, Saint Joseph's 47

SUNDAY:

George Mason 73, La Salle 71 (Taylor Brown wins at buzzer with layup, 1st road A-10 win in Patriot history)
Dayton 78, Duquesne 67 (Preseason Player of the Year Andrea Hoover: 22 points, 5 rebounds)
Rhode Island 71, Davidson 62 (first road win for Rams in over five years)
Fordham 72, St. Bonaventure 62

PHOTO GALLERY: VCU 64, Rhode Island 48

For a look at the action from the Siegel Center Thursday night as the VCU Rams improved to 1-1 in the Atlantic 10, 10-5 overall with their eleventh straight win at home, CLICK HERE for our photo gallery from our RVA Sports Network sister Facebook page.

Big First Half Propels VCU To Victory....

VCU kept its home winning streak going, and brought head coach Beth O'Boyle her first Atlantic 10 victory, by building a 23-point halftime lead, then fighting off Rhode Island through a lethargic second half, riding defense to finish off a 64-48 win in the battle of Rams at the Siegel Center Thursday.

Monnaz Finney-Smith took her turn as leading scorer for VCU (1-1, 10-5), hitting four consecutive three-pointers, ending the night with 14 points. Adaeze Alaeze had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while Isis Thorpe and Keira Robinson added ten apiece.

Finney-Smith's performance was welcomed by O'Boyle.

"Shooters shoot," O'Boyle noted. "We don't really hesitate with her when she has an open three. We want her to keep working on her game so she can get to the rim, but she did a good job defensively for us, too."

VCU's defense was key after intermission, as their offense, who rolled out to a 40-17 lead at the break, disappeared, scoring only three points in the first seven minutes. However, the visiting Rams couldn't take advantage, stymied by VCU's aggressive play both in the paint and on the perimeter. In those same seven minutes, Rhode Island managed just 11 points.

The rest of the night was a simple matter of holding Rhode Island at bay. Rhode Island had a chance with 3:30 to play with a chance to finally cut the margin to single digits to mount a final push, but Alaeze's offensive rebound and subsequent foul by Rhode Island ended any last hopes.

O'Boyle credited Rhode Island's second half work, and was grateful for her team's defensive effort.

"Like any good team, you knew Rhode Island was going to come back and make some of those shots," O'Boyle explained. "They started the second half hot, but I thought we did a good job of handling that run, and then being able to go back at them again, trying to keep the tempo up for the full forty minutes."

Daynia La-Force, also in her first season as a head coach in the Atlantic 10, summed up the Rhode Island (1-1, 9-5) performance succinctly.

"I don't think we were ready to play tonight," La-Force said. "A lot of the things we talked about VCU doing very well like scoring off turnovers and on transition, and we had to do a better job of stopping them in those things, and we didn't."

La-Force is looking for consistency from a team that won just eight games overall a year ago before she arrived on campus, a team that also starts two freshmen.

"We're a one half team, and I'm trying to get this program to know the importance of playing basketball for two halves," La-Force added.

VCU next plays at Saint Louis on Monday night, while Rhode Island travels to Davidson for a 2pm Sunday matinee.

OTHER THURSDAY FINALS (Game Summaries at links below):

Fordham 70, La Salle 59 (Rams improve to 2-0 in league play with first conference road win)
Duquesne 88, George Mason 54 (Dukes even league mark at 1-1, Patriots fall to 1-1)

Thursday Line-Up and LIVE Coverage....

RVA Sports Network will be at the Siegel Center tonight as Beth O'Boyle and the VCU Rams try to get their first conference win as they host Rhode Island in their Atlantic 10 home opener.

Rhode Island comes off a win over Duquesne over the weekend, while VCU lost in Philadelphia at Saint Joseph's.

Follow @TheRVASportsNet on Twitter for real-time updates throughout tonight's game!


OTHER GAMES:
George Mason (1-0) at Duquesne (0-1), 7pm
Fordham (1-0) at La Salle (1-0), 7pm

WEDNESDAY CONFERENCE ACTION....

(Click on available links for game coverage and highlights as they come in....)


Dayton 67, Davidson 51 (Ally Malott scores 20 points as Flyers even conference mark at 1-1)

Richmond 67, St. Bonaventure 61 (Janelle Hubbard scores a season-high 24, both teams now 1-1)
George Washington 83, Saint Joseph's 69 (Colonials move to 2-0 in conference play)
Saint Louis 75, UMass 67 (1st conference win for Billikens comes on the road...)

Jones of GW Honored Again....

For the third time this season, Jonquel Jones of George Washington is honored as the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of The Week.

For more on the honor, CLICK HERE.

SUNDAY FINALS....

George Mason 66, Saint Louis 57
La Salle 63, Davidson 54
Fordham 65, Richmond 64 (OT) (Rams come from 5 down in final minute, hit game-winner trey at 1.7 left)
George Washington 69, Dayton 66 (Flyers' 32-game home winning streak ends, 23 points for Washington)

SATURDAY FINALS....

Day One of the Atlantic 10 conference schedule is in the books, with an old reliable victorious at home and a big early win for a new coach at home.

Saint Joseph's 63, VCU 46: Recap HERE
Rhode Island 62, Duquesne 61: Recap HERE
St. Bonaventure 65, UMass 53: Recap HERE

CONFERENCE SEASON BEGINS!!

The Road to Richmond hits an important milestone this weekend, as Atlantic 10 Conference play gets underway!

Seven games are scheduled between Saturday and Sunday:

UMass (6-6) at St. Bonaventure (10-3), Saturday, 1pm: The Minutewomen look to match their conference win total of last season (one) in their opener against a Bonnies squad coming off a 24-win season a year ago, with the second-best non-conference record this year.

Duquesne (8-5) at Rhode Island (8-4), Saturday, 1pm: The Dukes have overcome an 0-3 start to win eight of their last their last ten games. Five of those wins came on the road, where they will be for the conference opener. It's the Atlantic 10 coaching debut for new Rams head coach Daynia La-Force. Opponents are shooting just 25.4% from behind the three-point line against Rhode Island so far this season.

VCU (9-4) at Saint Joseph's (4-8), Saturday, 7pm: It's been a disappointing road so far for the team with the highest RPI in the league a year ago, the Hawks, who also owned the only conference win in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Cindy Griffin will have her team ready for conference play as the Rams come to Philadelphia in Beth O'Boyle's A-10 coaching debut for VCU, who have won five straight, but are just 3-4 away from the Siegel Center. Isis Thorpe is averaging 11 points a game, Meadowbrook grad Ashley Pegram just over 10. Pegram is also 24-for-26 at the free throw line so far this season.

La Salle (9-4) at Davidson (4-9), Sunday, 2pm: Davidson makes its Atlantic 10 debut at home against one of the bigger surprises so far this season in the Explorers, who have won nine of their past eleven games. Micahya Owens leads the team scoring over 13 points per game. The team shoots 37 percent from three-point land. Hannah Early has led the Wildcats in scoring in nine of their fourteen games.

Saint Louis (7-6) at George Mason (8-5), Sunday, 2pm (NBC Sports Network): Two teams desperate to break into the upper echelon of the conference face off in Fairfax. The Patriots have already met their win total of a year ago (8-23), looking to do much better than their 1-15 conference mark from last season. The Billikens were 7-9 in the Atlantic 10 a year ago and come into Sunday's matchup off a good 73-68 win at home over Ball State on Tuesday. George Mason will look to A-10 leading scorer Taylor Brown, averaging 24.3 points per game.

Richmond (8-4) at Fordham (8-5), Sunday, 3:30pm (CBS Sports Network): It was an up-and-down non-conference season for the Spiders with winning and losing streaks on their mark. They begin Atlantic 10 play in the Bronx against the defending tournament champions, who, too, have had an uneven start to their campaign. The Rams are struggling offensively, averaging just 58.8 points per game, 13th in the 14-team conference. The Spiders average 67.3 points per game, led by Janelle Hubbard's 13.3 and Lauren Tolson's 12.5. Emily Tapio leads Fordham with 12.6 ppg.

George Washington (11-2) at Dayton (9-3), Sunday, 3:30pm (ESPNU): A HUGE conference opener, as the Colonials, holders of the best non-conference record in the Atlantic 10, heads into Ohio to face the overwhelming preseason favorite to, again, win the regular season conference title. The veteran Flyers are 9-3, led again by Preseason Player of the Year Andrea Hoover, second in the conference in point per game average at 20.3. Ally Malott, who impressed at the Richmond Coliseum in last year's conference tournament, averages 15.8 points per game. Jonquel Jones leads the Colonials in scoring at 15.2 per contest, getting help from Kelli Prange (11.4) and Caira Washington (10.8). Possible difference here? Team defense, where the Colonials average allowing 58 points per game, while the Flyers give up almost 70.