Sports

Actions

Virginia Union claims men’s, women’s CIAA championships

Posted at 11:17 AM, Mar 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-04 11:46:30-05

CHARLOTTE -- Virginia Union University claimed both the men's and women's CIAA Tournament championships with respective victories over Johnson C. Smith University and Bowie State University Saturday.

The men's team entered the tournament as the fourth seed and became the first team since 2007 to win four games in four days, culminating in an 82-52 win over the Golden Bulls Saturday. Senior guard Todd Hughes led the way with 22 points while Kory Cooley added 13 of his own and took home tournament MVP honors.

Junior Rachel Pecota scored a game high 28 points, including 13 in the first half, and Alexis Johnson added 21 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Lady Panthers to their second CIAA title in the last three years with a 73-57 win over the Lady Bulldogs.

Virginia Union is now the fifth school since 1975 and the first since 2011 to take home both tournament championships.