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Virginia Claims Marriott Cavalier Classic Championship With 81-63 Win Over UAB
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Dec. 29, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia women’s basketball claimed the 2006 Marriott Cavalier Classic Championship title with an 81-63 win over UAB on Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers improved to 10-3 on the season, while the Blazers fell to 5-7 overall. The title is UVa’s 17th in 21 seasons of the classic. In the Third Place Game, Maine defeated Northwestern State, 79-63.
All-Tournament Team honors went to NWLA’s Chassidy Jones, Maine’s Katie Whittier, UAB’s Britney Jones, and Virginia’s Lyndra Littles (Washington, D.C.). Cavalier point guard Sharneé Zoll (Marlboro, N.J.) captured Most Valuable Player honors.
Virginia jumped out to a quick six-point lead, 8-2, but UAB cut the lead to one point three times. UVa held a seven-point advantage at intermission, 36-29.
In the second half, Virginia opened the stanza with a 14-4 run to build its lead to double digits. The `Hoos pushed their lead to as many as 21 points.
Freshman Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) led UVa with 20 points, including shooting 9-of-10 from the line. Littles followed with her seventh double-double of the season (12th of her career) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Zoll rounded out the double-figure scoring with 15 points and nine assists.
Diamond Rogers led UAB with 23 points. Britney Jones came off the bench for 17 points, while Christon Ingram added 12 points. Carmen Guzman finished with 11 points.
Overall, Virginia out-rebounded UAB, 48-31. The Cavaliers shot 46 percent (28-61) from the field, while the Blazers shot 35 percent (25-72).
In the Maine-NWLA game, Ashley Underwood led Maine with 23 points, including a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Katie Whittier and Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa added 17 points each, with Whittier also grabbing 12 boards. NWLA’s Chassidy Jones, Tena Matthews, and Natasha Isom had 12 points each.
Virginia opens the new year at Richmond on Wednesday, Jan. 3 in a 7 p.m. game.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MARRIOTT CAVALIER CLASSIC
Third Place Game 1 2 – Final
Northwestern State (4-9) 34 29 – 63
Maine (6-5) 36 43 – 79
Championship Game 1 2 – Final
UAB (5-7) 29 34 – 63
Virginia (10-3) 36 45 – 81
All-Tournament Team
Chassidy Jones, Northwestern State
Katie Whittier, Maine
Britney Jones, UAB
Lyndra Littles, Virginia
MVP- Sharneé Zoll, Virginia