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Jan. 2, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Clemson claimed a 58-55 win over Virginia in the ACC opener for both teams at University Hall on Friday.
“It was a hotly contested game,” said Clemson head coach Jim Davis. “My hat’s off to both teams. But both are capable of playing more polished games.”
UVa fell to 5-6 overall and 0-1 in the conference, while Clemson improved to 11-1 overall and 1-0 in the league.
In the first half, the Lady Tigers stormed ahead by as many as 15 points, 24-9 with 8:16 to go. Clemson held a nine-point advantage at intermission, 28-19.
In the second half, Virginia opened the stanza with a 11-0 run and went ahead by four, 42-38 with 7:29 remaining in the game. The teams battled back and forth through the last minute of play. Trailing by four, 56-52, Virginia’s Anna Prillaman (Midlothian, Va.) nailed her third three-point shot of the game to come within one, 56-55 with :07 to go. Two made free throws by Clemson gave the Lady Tigers a 58-55 edge with :05 on the clock. A three-pointer by junior Brandi Teamer (Joliet, Ill.) as time expired fell short.
“I felt we made critical errors at critical times,” said Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan. “We didn’t make very good decisions. We had a lot of decisions in the last two minutes, and we didn’t make good choices.”
Prillaman led Virginia with 15 points, while Teamer finished with 12. Junior LaTonya Blue (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed a game-high and season-high nine rebounds.
“I got a real good look,” Teamer said of the final shot to tie the game. “I would’ve loved to have found (Prillaman), but I couldn’t see anyone. My first option was to take the shot.”
“This game was very important for my confidence,” said Prillaman, who went 0-6 from the field against Minnesota.
Lakeia Stokes paced Clemson with 17 points off the bench. Maggie Slosser had 14 points, and Julie Aderhold added 11.
Overall, Clemson out-rebounded UVa, 36-31.
Virginia travels to Maryland on Sunday, Jan. 4 for a 1 p.m. televised game on the Regional Sports Network (locally on Comcast).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
1 2 - FinalClemson (11-1, 1-0) 28 30 - 58Virginia (5-6, 0-1) 19 36 - 55
Scores from other ACC games tonight:
Georgia Tech 66, Florida State 59
Maryland 68, NC State 56
#14 North Carolina 90, Wake Forest 79