Virginia Defeats Boston College, 69-57

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Jan. 24, 2013

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team defeated Boston College, 69-57, Thursday night (Jan. 24) in Charlottesville.

Ataira Franklin (Jr., Bowie, Md.) became the 29th player in Virginia program history to score 1,000 points in her Cavalier career when she hit a three-pointer with 6:56 remaining in the game.

The Cavaliers held a 33-27 lead at halftime. Coming out of the break, Boston College did not score a field goal for the first 12:51 of the second period, starting the half going 0-for-16 from the field, allowing Virginia to cement a double-digit lead.

Both teams got off to a cold start, combining to go 2-for-10 to begin the game. Virginia opened up with seven of its first nine field goal attempts coming from beyond the arc, with only one from China Crosby (Sr., New York, N.Y.) on target, before the Cavaliers started utilizing their size advantage down low, scoring three straight layups to take a 9-6 lead.

With the game knotted at 10, Virginia used a pair of baskets from Jaryn Garner (Fr., Sewell, N.J.) and a three-pointer from Franklin to help take a 19-13 lead. After BC pulled to within a point, 19-18, Franklin drained her second three, beginning a 7-0 Virginia run to give the Cavaliers a 26-18 lead with five minutes left in the first half.

Kelsey Wolfe (Jr., Germantown, Md.) drove to the hoop with seconds left in the period, converting the layup to send Virginia into the break with a 33-27 advantage.

The two teams combined to start the second half going 2-for-10 from the field, with both baskets being scored by the Cavaliers who extended their lead to 37-29 on a Crosby pull-up jumper with 17 minutes remaining. After a jumper by Franklin gave the Cavaliers their first double-digit lead, 39-29, Sarah Imovbioh (So., Abuja, Nigeria) built the lead to 13, 41-29, after muscling in a layup while getting fouled and then converting the and-one opportunity.

Boston College’s field goal drought ended with 7:09 left in the game when Nicole Boudreau pulled up for a jumper just outside the paint.

Franklin answered by hitting the three-pointer that was her 1,000th career point, giving Virginia a 52-37 lead with 6:56 remaining.

The Eagles cut the Cavalier lead to single digits, 65-56, on another Boudreau three-pointer with 1:42 left in the game. Virginia responded with Crosby feeding Simone Egwu (Sr., Odenton, Md.) in the low post to make it 67-56 with 1:13 remaining.

The Cavaliers held on for a 12-point victory, 69-57, improving to 13-6 and 5-3 in the ACC. Boston College fell to 8-10 and 2-5 in the ACC.

“I’m excited about the win,” said head coach Joanne Boyle. “I think we are putting a good stretch together. I thought our prep was good and the girls came out really focused. They didn’t take anybody lightly.”

Franklin ended the game with 18 points, going 4-for-8 from three-point range. She also had five rebounds and two assists.

“It was great to get it at home,” Franklin said of reaching the 1,000-point milestone. “It is exciting and overwhelming, especially in the game. Afterwards, it feels great to be a part of the history of the university and be able to contribute. On top of that, it’s great to win.”

Imovbioh, in 15 minutes on the court, went 5-for-6, scoring 13 points with nine rebounds and four assists. Egwu scored 12 points with six rebounds and three assists. Wolfe scored 10 points with two assists.

The Cavaliers will go on the road, playing at Wake Forest (10-9, 3-4 ACC) on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. Virginia will have a week off after the Wake game, returning to action on Sunday, Feb. 3 when it hosts Georgia Tech at 1 p.m.