During a game that quickly turned into a rout in the second half, sophomore Brandi Teamer lead the Cavaliers in a sweet victory over Wake Forest 64-44 at U-Hall last night.
Teamer finished with 23 points to lead Virginia (10-11, 4-6 ACC) in scoring, pulling down 8 rebounds in the process. The center also knocked down two threes.
"I don't take a lot of three pointers, but I felt before the game that my shot was on a little bit," Teamer said.
After a sloppy first half by both squads, the Cavaliers came out firing with a quick 10-1 run to start the second. Teamer sparked the run with a quick two, followed closely when sophomore Cherrise Graham hit a shot of her own. Junior guard Anna Prillaman then drilled a three-pointer and Graham, again, followed suit. After that, the trouncing was on.
The Virginia defense played a huge role in this second half resurgence, holding the Wake attack to seven points in the first ten minutes of the period.
The Cavaliers improved rebounding was also a factor in the quick start to second half play.
"We need to rebound the ball to run," said Virginia coach Debbie Ryan, "We started to rebound so well we could set the tone."
Wake Forest (10-10, 1-9) played strong in the first half, not allowing Teamer to overpower them despite the Cavaliers' clear desire to force the issue inside. The Deacons' defense held her to 3-8 from the floor in the first.
The second half was a different story as Teamer, Graham and sophomore guard Latonya Blue ate up the boards, totaling 24 rebounds for the game.
Senior guard Liz Sahin, who averages only 2.1 points a game, hit back to back three pointers to put Virginia ahead by 14 midway through the second. She finished with 13 points and three three-pointers, both career highs.
"I don't think it should matter who starts, we had all kinds of lineups at the end of the game and they played great together," said Ryan.
Senior forward Tiffani Listenbee led Wake with 11 points. Junior Eafton Hill, the team's leading scorer at 11.9 points per game, was held to 7 points and 1-8 from the field.
Graham also reached a career high in assists with seven, topping her old high of six. She also added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Virginia freshman center Tiffany Sardin only saw three minutes as she went down with an ankle injury with thirty seconds left in the first half.
"It was a serious injury, it swelled up immediately and she'll be x-rayed tomorrow. Whatever it is she'll be out a little while because it's very, very swollen," Ryan said.
In spite of a slow start, and an onslaught of obstacles along the way, Virginia's hunger proved to be the most potent force on the floor last night, securing this key conference win.
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