The first four minutes of yesterday's women's basketball game against N.C. State had every indication of a Virginia blowout as they staked out a commanding 11-0 lead. But the ease with which the Cavaliers (12-9, 5-5 ACC) attained that game-opening run belied the struggle they would face the rest of this afternoon, fighting hard to stave off the Wolfpack (11-10, 5-5). But the Cavaliers emerged victorious with a 61-57 win.
After Virginia's opening run, N.C. State immediately surged back with its own 12-0 run taking a 14-13 edge. Ten lead changes later, Virginia freshman Bethany LeSueur hit a long baseline jumper to give the Cavaliers a 28-27 lead. After two minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the first half, the Cavaliers never trailed again.
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Although the Wolfpack made a late surge in the last three minutes, they never got closer than a three-point deficit, thanks to strong defense and two free throws by Virginia sophomore Anna Prillaman in the last 30 seconds.
This matchup had been billed as a showdown of star post players Virginia freshman Brandi Teamer (15.1 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game) and N.C. State sophomore Kaayla Chones (13.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg), but the hype was for naught. Neither player was much of a factor in the first half. Teamer shot 2-of-10 from the field and had eight points in the first half, while Chones did not take a single field goal before making an early exit to the locker room with a leg injury incurred after crashing into the scorer's table while pursuing a loose ball. She would return in the second half but was unable to make her presence felt, finishing with just seven points.
Virginia had a week of preparation for this game and used it to target Chones.
"I felt like we had a couple different things prepared for them," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "[Asst. coaches] Nikki Caldwell and Tim Taylor had a good game plan for Kaayla. We concentrated our defense on their low post game."
That week of preparation was evident to their opponents, too.
"I feel like Virginia out-planned us for this game," N.C. State coach Kay Yow said. "They took away our leading scorer. We made the decision to play Teamer one-on-one and that was a mistake."
Teamer made the appropriate halftime adjustments and scored eight points on an early 10-4 run. She would finish the game with 22 points and 11 rebounds for her ACC-leading 11th double-double.
"I came out a lot more aggressive in the second half," Teamer said. "My teammates did a great job finding me when I was hot."
The other boon for Virginia was the play of its bench. Safiya Grant, after her strong showing against North Carolina last Sunday, was given the starting nod, contributing six points. Prillaman's early foul trouble limited her action and allowed LeSueur and freshman forward Jocelyn Logan-Friend to log some significant minutes. LeSueur had four points, four rebounds and two steals. Logan-Friend added seven points and five rebounds. Starting point guard Telisha Quarles was the other source of offense, adding 15 points.
N.C. State relied on a similarly well-balanced attack to stay in this one. Talisha Scates and Nanna Rivers each recorded career highs with 17 and 14 points respectively, and Amelia Labador chipped in 11 of her own.
The Cavaliers now have four days to recover from their hard-fought win and return to action Thursday on the road against Clemson.
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