Virginia Union University's Rejoice Spivey scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Lady Panthers over Edinboro University 83-71 in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 15, in Glenville, W.V.

Spivey hit nine of 18 shots from the field and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line to lift VUU to the win.

"We're very excited and grateful to even be in the Atlantic Region," said VUU Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert.  "We've overcome some adversity this year with injuries.  People always ask me what the difference is with this team when compared with our teams from the past few years, and it's their resilience.  They've been able to stay strong and fight together and overcome adversity."

VUU's Shareka McNeill scored 17 points while Jasmine Carter led the Lady Panthers with eight rebounds.

The Lady Panther defense was also on display, with VUU forcing Edinboro to commit 17 turnovers in the game.

"We hang our hat on our defense and our ability to get stops when we need them," said Gilbert.  "There were moments when I thought our defense let up a little, but it was there down the stretch.  

The win raised VUU's record to 28-2 on the season, marking the fourth straight season where the Lady Panthers have achieved 28 wins.

Edinboro finished its season at 20-9.

Virginia Union will now face Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, in Glenville, W.V.