Virginia Falls at Richmond, 73-70
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Jan. 3, 2007
RICHMOND, Va. – Despite having four players in double figures, the Virginia Cavaliers opened the new year with a 73-70 loss at Richmond on Wednesday evening.
Virginia fell to 10-4 overall, while the Spiders improved to 6-9 on the season.
“The energy we should at the end we should have shown throughout the game,” UVa head coach Debbie Ryan said. “We lacked defensive intensity.”
The teams played a tight first half. UVa held the Spiders without a bucket over a six-and-half minute span. UR had the biggest lead- five points, 29-24 with 4:08 on the clock. The Cavaliers held a three-point edge at intermission, 35-32, paced by freshman Monica Wright’s (Woodbridge, Va.) 15 points.
Richmond opened the second stanza with a 9-2 run to go ahead by four, 41-37. The Spiders led by as many as nine, 68-59 with 3:30 to go. Then UVa made its final move. Junior Sharnee Zoll (Marlboro, N.J.) and sophomore Lyndra Littles (Washington, D.C.) fueled UVa’s surge, combining to score nine points in 60 seconds to tie the game at 68-68 with 2:02 on the clock. UR responded with a three-point bucket, but Littles added a lay-up to trail by one, 71-70 with 1:30 to go. Richmond then missed three shots before Littles grabbed a rebound to give UVa the ball for its final possession.
With just 19 seconds on the clock, Zoll drove the lane and kicked the ball out to senior Brenna McGuire (Winchester, Mass.) on the left wing for a three. The ball rimmed out and Wright followed with a missed layup before Richmond rebounded the ball and was fouled.
“It was a scramble,” Ryan said of UVa’s final possession. “Sharnee kicked it out. Brenna’s made that shot a 100 times. It should not have come down to that.”
“If we would have played 40 minutes like we played the last three minutes, we would have won the game,” Zoll added.
Wright led Virginia with her first collegiate double-double of 21 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Littles followed with 17 points and 11 boards for her eighth double-double of the year (13th of career). Freshman Paulisha Kellum (Upper Marlboro, Md.) came off the bench for a career-high 13 points, while Zoll finished with 11 points.
Virginia, which played all of its eight dressed players, played without senior center Siedah Williams (knee) and junior guard Tara McKnight (ankle).
“Richmond’s a great team,” Zoll said. “Anytime it’s an in-state rival, we know it’s going to be tough. We didn’t overlook them.”
Nikita Thomas and Kara Powell led UR with 14 points each. Christinia Campion followed with 13 points, while Danielle Bell added 11.
Overall, UR out-rebounded UVa, 40-36. The Cavaliers out-shot the Spiders, 46 percent (30-65) to 43 percent (28-65).
Virginia opens its ACC slate at No. 2/2 North Carolina on Monday, Jan. 8. The game will be televised live at 7 p.m. by the Regional Sports Network.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
1 2 - FinalVirginia (10-4) 35 35 - 70Richmond (6-9) 32 41 - 73