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Virginia Cruises To ACC Win Over Wake Forest, 73-46
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia posted a 73-46 victory over visiting Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Wake Forest Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Sophomores Telia McCall (Marietta, Ga.) and China Crosby (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Ataira Franklin (Bowie, Md.) led the way for UVa, as all three underclassmen scored in double figures.
McCall scored a season-high 12 points and led the team with three steals. Franklin was the co-high scorer, also netting 12 points (all in the second half). Crosby, meanwhile, dropped in 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting including 1-of-1 from behind the 3-point arc.
Virginia improved to 13-11 overall, 2-6 in league play with the victory. Wake Forest’s record dropped to 11-13 overall and 2-6 in ACC action.
The Cavaliers are now 11-2 at John Paul Jones Arena this season and both conference victories have come at home.
The Cavaliers built an early 10-6 lead in the first half and eventually stretched it to 22-15 on a 3-pointer by Crosby that prompted a Wake Forest timeout at the 4:52 mark.
The Cavaliers continued their momentum into halftime and held a 29-20 lead at the break.
UVa opened the second half on a 12-4 run and four-consecutive made free throws by McCall gave Virginia a 41-24 lead with 14:28 left in the game.
Down the stretch, the Cavaliers took their largest lead of the game, 28 points, on two free throws by Ariana Moorer (Woodbridge, Va.) with 9:18 left in the game. UVa maintained at least a 22-point cushion the rest of the way and won by the final score of 73-46.
The Cavaliers forced 27 Wake Forest turnovers and scored a season-high 33 points off the Demon Deacons’ turnovers.
Virginia shot over 50 percent (.510 on 25-of-49 field goals) for the third time this season and has a 3-0 record when doing so.
Wake Forest’s leading scorer was Brittany Waters with nine points.
For Virginia, Simone Egwu (Odenton, Md.) chipped in nine points, while Jazmin Pitts (Mosely, Va.) grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go with five points.
Moorer finished with eight points and three assists, while Whitny Edwards (Charlotte, N.C.) had four points and a team-high four assists.
Chelsea Shine (Wayne, Pa.) contributed eight points, and Paulisha Kellum (Upper Marlboro, Md.) finished with two points, three rebounds and two assists.
Virginia sophomore guard Lexie Gerson (Fort Washington, Pa.) missed the game due to a family medical emergency in her home state of Pennsylvania.
Up next for Virginia, the Cavaliers face 14th-ranked Florida State at home on Monday night (Feb. 7). The game will begin at 7 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network.