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Virginia Upsets #21/18 Arizona, 70-65, in Hawaii Classic
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Nov. 28, 2003
HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Virginia women’s basketball team upset No. 21/18 Arizona, 70-65, in the opening round of the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu on Friday.
With the win, Virginia improved to 2-1 overall, while the Wildcats fell to 1-2. UVa will play No. 2 Texas, which beat Navy 97-46 in the tourney’s first game, on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. (Hawaii time or 10:30 p.m. EST). All of the Cavs’ games can be heard on WINA Radio (1070 AM) and at www.VirginiaSports.com.
“We showed a lot of composure and maturity late in the game,” said Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan. “That Virginia Tech game helped us. This was a very scrappy game. It was a difficult game to win, but I’m proud of our effort.”
In the first half, the teams traded baskets until the 10-minute mark when UVa jumped ahead by five, 21-16. The Cavs went ahead by as many as nine points and led at intermission, 31-27.
In the second half, Virginia stormed out of the locker room to go ahead by 12 points, 49-27 with 14:45 to go. Arizona came within two points, 65-63 with 3:51 on the clock, but never regained the lead. Lay-ups by juniors Kate Kreager (Oak Hill, Va.) and LaTonya Blue (Baltimore, Md.) down the stretch sealed the UVa upset.
Overall, Blue paced the Cavs with a season-high 16 points. Senior Anna Prillaman (Midlothian, Va.) had 14 points, including four treys, while junior Brandi Teamer (Joliet, Ill.) added 13 points. Kreager finished with 10 points.
“When we first came here (to Hawaii), we had fun,” Kreager said. “But today we took care of business. We were really focused today, and now it’s a huge opportunity to play Texas.”
Shawntinice Polk paced Arizona with 14 points, while Dee-Dee Wheeler had 12.
Overall, the Wildcats out-rebounded UVa, 33-26.
“Playing No. 2 Texas will be a lot of fun,” Ryan said. “We look forward to the match-up.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
1 2 - Final#21/18 Arizona (1-2) 27 38 - 65Virginia (2-1) 31 39 - 70