Virginia Falls at #6 Maryland, 85-71
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Feb. 5, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Virginia women’s basketball team dropped its fourth consecutive ACC game with an 85-71 loss at No. 6 Maryland on Sunday afternoon at the Comcast Center.
Virginia fell to 13-8 overall and 2-7 in the ACC, while the Terrapins improved to 21-2 overall and 8-1 in the league.
“I was very proud of our effort today,” head coach Debbie Ryan said. “We made some great strides. We played with great poise and tenacity. They just played their hearts out.”
In the first half, the Terrapins jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Cavaliers rebounded and stayed within two points until the 10-minute mark. Maryland responded with a 21-1 run over an eight-minute stretch to go ahead by 21 points, 38-17. Virginia closed out the stanza with a 9-3 run. UM held a 15-point edge at intermission, 43-28.
“We went cold, and we have a tendency to do that,” Ryan said of the scoring drought. “That was a difficult stretch.”
In the second half, the Cavaliers battled back to within six points twice, but couldn’t get any closer.
Senior Tiffany Sardin (Chicago, Ill.) paced UVa with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore Sharnee Zoll (Marlboro, N.J.) added 16 points and a game-high12 assists for her second career double-double. Zoll now needs just four assists to break the assists record by a sophomore (143, held by Tora Suber). Sophomore Takisha Granberry (Charlotte, N.C.) followed with 13 points.
“Whether there’s a lot of time on the clock or just 38 seconds, we’re not going to give up,” Zoll said.
“Tiffany and Sharnee led our team today,” Ryan said. “Both became much more aggressive (in the second half), and it opened the game up.”
All five Maryland starters netted double figures, paced by Shay Doron’s 22 points. Laura Harper added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“Maryland had a lot of weapons and were difficult to defend,” Ryan added. “I thought we stayed right with them.”
Overall, Maryland out-rebounded Virginia, 38-30.
“It was a game of runs,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “The challenge was we knew that Virginia wasn’t going to quit, and Sardin is difficult to guard.”
Virginia travels to No. 2 Duke on Friday, Feb. 10. The Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports South, Comcast Sports, SunSports) will televise the game which tips at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
1 2 - FinalVirginia (13-8, 2-7) 28 43 - 71#6 Maryland (21-2, 8-1) 43 42 - 85