Virginia Falls to Virginia Tech in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (3-14, 0-7 ACC) suffered a 71-42 loss to Virginia Tech (15-5, 7-2 ACC) in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Thursday (Jan. 27) at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia Tech had a pair of extended runs, a 14-1 in the first quarter and a 14-0 streak in the third, to win the second meeting of the two teams in a 10-day span.

UConn transfer Mir McLean, in her first game playing with the Cavaliers, scored 11 points with a team-high nine rebounds. Grad student guard Amandine Toi scored a team-high 13 points.

Virginia Tech had a pair of players post 20-point games with Georgia Amoore scoring 21 and Aisha Sheppard adding 20.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The game opened with four lead changes in the first five minutes. Grad student guard Amandine Toi hit a pair of three-pointers in the first three minutes of the game, but it was a layup from grad student center Eleah Parker with 6:29 remaining in the period that gave UVA a 9-6 lead. A three-pointer from Cayla King tied the game and was the start of a 14-1 run by the Hokies to close out the period. Virginia Tech took a 20-10 lead into the second quarter.

Sophomore guard Mir McLean ended the Virginia scoreless spell with a layup 40 seconds into the second quarter. Another McLean layup pulled the Cavaliers to within six, 25-19, with 4:05 remaining in the half, but Virginia Tech answered with an and-one on the opposite end. The Hokies took a 33-23 lead into the break.

Virginia scored six points in the first 35 seconds of the second half, on a layup from Parker followed by a fast-break bucket from junior guard Taylor Valladay to narrow the gap to 33-27. A three-pointer from Aisha Shepard at the 7:37 mark pushed the Hokies back out to a double-digit lead and started a 14-0 run. Junior forward London Clarkson ended the run with a layup with 3:40 remaining in the period, with the Cavaliers trailing 50-31. Virginia Tech went 6-of-8 from three-point range in the period to build up a 57-35 lead heading into the fourth.

Virginia Tech scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter. Valladay made the Cavaliers’ first field goal of the period, pulling up for a free throw line jumper 5:13 into the period. Neither team made a field goal for the final 2:47 of the contest.

FROM HEAD COACH TINA THOMPSON

“I’m really disappointed with our effort tonight. As hard as we work every day, there is no excuse for not competing consistently. I take full responsibility for that. I’m responsible for how we show up as a team and how we compete from the start to the finish of the game. I’ve made excuses just a little bit for why we show up the way that we show up. But we’re not doing that anymore. We have all been given a great opportunity and it is our responsibility to show up and show gratitude for the opportunity that we have been given. We had conversations about that. At the end of the day, we’re representing a fine university that exudes excellence and the expectation is that, so we have to show up differently.”

NOTES

• Virginia shot 34.7 percent (17-of-49); Virginia Tech 43.9 percent (25-of-57)
• Virginia was 4-of-9 from three-point range (44.4 percent); Virginia Tech was 11-fo-28 from three (39.3 percent)
• Virginia Tech held a 38-31 edge in rebounding
• Virginia Tech scored 23 points off turnovers; UVA scored 7
• Mir McLean made her Cavalier debut with 1:49 remaining in the first quarter. She was granted an NCAA waiver to be able to play earlier today. She scored all 11 of her points in the first half
• Amandine Toi was 5-of-12 shooting overall and 3-of-5 from three-point range
• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It was an all-sports points-based program with the Commonwealth
• Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions. With the half point from today’s game, the Hokies lead 4.0-1.5

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia closes out the week with a road game at Florida State on Sunday, January 30 at 12 p.m. The game will be televised on the ACC Regional Sports Networks and will not stream online