No. 6 Maryland Holds Off Virginia, 85-71
Story Links
Feb. 5, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) – Shay Doron scored 23 points and No. 6 Maryland weathered a second-half comeback by Virginia before escaping with its seventh straight victory, 85-71, on Sunday.
Laura Harper had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kristi Toliver scored 16 for the Terrapins (21-2, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who made nine free throws in the final 4 minutes after letting a 21-point lead dwindle to 72-66.
Maryland used a 21-1 first-half run to go up 38-17 and led by 15 at halftime, but it took a late surge to assure the Terrapins their first regular-season sweep of the Cavaliers since 1989.
The victory also assured Maryland a winning record in the ACC for the first time since 1996-97.
Tiffany Sardin had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Sharnee Zoll scored 16 for Virginia (13-8, 2-7). The Cavaliers have lost four straight and seven of nine.
It marked the first of three games for Virginia against teams ranked in the top six. The Cavaliers face No. 2 Duke on Friday and top-ranked North Carolina on Feb. 12.
Down 43-28 at halftime, the Cavaliers got three baskets from Sardin and a 3-pointer from Zoll in an 11-4 run that made it 47-39. Minutes later, Takisha Granberry scored four straight points to make it 54-47 with 12:20 left.
Maryland got the lead back up to 12, but the Terrapins were too tough at the line, going 27-for-34 compared to 11-for-15 for the Cavaliers.
There were five ties in the opening seven minutes before Toliver hit a 3-pointer to put Maryland up for good at 15-12.
It was 17-16 before Doron then hit a 3-pointer, received an assist on a Crystal Langhorne layup and sank a jumper from the foul line. After a Virginia timeout, Toliver scored from beyond the arc and Doron made two foul shots before a free throw by Granberry interrupted the 13-point run.
Marissa Coleman then hit a long-range jumper to spark a nine-point spurt that made it 38-17. Granberry answered with a runner in the lane to end a Virginia field-goal drought that lasted nearly 7 minutes.