No. 18 Virginia Edged By No. 10 Florida State, 59-58

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Jacinta Monroe made two free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining and ninth-ranked Florida State beat No. 21 Virginia 59-58 on Monday night.

The Seminoles (24-4, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got a career-high 29 points from Courtney Ward, but only held on when Ariana Moorer’s open 6-footer in the lane just before the final buzzer bounced off the front. The victory was the sixth in a row and 10th in 11 games for the Seminoles.

The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Virginia (20-7, 8-4), which rallied from a 57-50 deficit to go ahead by a point on Monica Wright’s layup off a steal by Chelsea Shine with 25 seconds left. But the Cavaliers only had time for Moorer’s one last shot.

Wright led Virginia with 23 points.

The game was close throughout the second half until the Seminoles used a 9-2 run to take a 57-50 lead. Ward hit her sixth 3-pointer in the spree, and finished 6 for 8 on 3s.

But the Cavaliers rallied, with Paulisha Kellam’s layup pulling them to 57-54 and two free throws by Wright with 46 seconds left making it a one-point game. After a turnover by Florida State, Shine had her shot blocked by Monroe and Florida State gathered the ball, but Shine took it back and fed Wright under the basket, giving Virginia the 58-57 advantage.

But Monroe’s free throws gave the lead back to the Seminoles, and they held on.

Florida State led 28-26 at halftime after closing with a flourish. The Seminoles trailed 22-6 after 13 minutes and had 11 turnovers before the fortunes of both teams changed.

After missing 14 of 17 shots to start the game, Florida State hit 9 of 12 the rest of the half. Over a span of 6 minutes, Gray hit three 3-pointers to spark a 22-2 run, giving the Seminoles a 28-24 lead with 1:05 left before Wright hit a pair or free throws.

Virginia was 1 for 6 from the field and had six turnovers during the Seminoles’ surge.