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.