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Virginia Women's Basketball Falls to Furman, 58-56
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Dec. 16, 2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia women’s basketball dropped its first game at University Hall with a 58-56 decision to Furman on Monday evening.
“It’s been a long road,” said Dr. Sam Dixon, Furman’s head coach. “This was our seventh straight road game and we’ve played against some unbelievable competition during this stretch. I’m very, very pleased. We put things together tonight. We maintained our composure, and we maintained our focus.”
“Furman played very well tonight,” said Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan. “We missed a lot of easy shots and that really hurt us.”
The Cavaliers stand 4-3 on the season, while the Lady Paladins improved to 3-5.
Virginia started the contest with an 8-0 run, but that would be the biggest lead either team would hold. At intermission, Furman held the one-point edge, 32-31.
“I was concerned with our fatigue,” Ryan added about her squad which just came off of final exams. “We weren’t very productive in practice. We didn’t have a lot of energy.”
In the second half, the teams battled back and forth. The score was tied at 56-56 for the last 2:45 of the game until Deshara Shealey drove the lane for the game-winning bucket with :00.3 remaining on the clock.
Sophomore Brandi Teamer (Joliet, Ill.) pace UVa with 13 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore LaTonya Blue (Baltimore, Md.) had 12 points, while sophomore Cherrise Graham (Conshohocken, Pa.) added 10 points.
Jen Nadalin paced Furman with 15 points, while Shealey added 14 points. The Lady Paladins out-rebounded UVa, 41-33.
The Cavaliers travel to Ohio State on Wednesday, Dec. 18 for a 7 p.m. contest at Value City Arena. Charlottesville’s WINA Radio (1070 AM) broadcasts each UVa game live with Jed Williams and Myron Ripley calling the action.
WOMEN?S BASKETBALL
1 2 - FinalFurman (3-5) 32 26 - 58Virginia (4-3) 31 25 - 54