After letting a 16-point halftime lead slip away, the Virginia women's basketball team managed to hold off a resilient Terrapin team for the 71-67 win in College Park last night. Sophomore Brandi Teamer led the Cavaliers with 23 points.
Maryland (10-14, 4-9 ACC) started out strong taking a six point lead with 16:17 in the half. Virginia (13-12, 7-7 ACC) finally found their offensive rhythm after an 8-0 run with 5:25 left in the first gave Virginia a 26-15 lead.
As a team, Virginia shot 44 percent from the floor in the first half and 41 percent for the game. Junior guard Anna Prillaman was 3-4 for from outside the circle in the first half also.
The Cavaliers then went on a 10-5 run to close out the half and give them a 16-point cushion going into the final 20 minutes.
Virginia Head coach Debbie Ryan said she knew that Maryland would think nothing of their lead and come out with a fiery intensity to start the second half.
"They will not stop attacking," Ryan said.
The Terrapins came out determined to topple Virginia's insurmountable lead, and with 7:02 left in the game, Maryland had come back to tie the score at 50.
"I think we were all disappointed we let a 16 point lead slip away from us," Teamer said.
The center had an awkward moment before the game that kept her out of the starting five. Teamer apparently had too much ice cream before the game and ended up behind the bench sick just before the game the tip.
"I've been having stomach problems all year," Teamer said.
The affects of the ice cream definitely wore off over the course of the game as Teamer came through for the Cavaliers. In the second half, after Maryland had tied the score, Teamer caught on fire and scored 11 of her 23 points.
Maryland never lead again after the score was tied at 58 with 7:02 remaining as Virginia stayed on top to knock off the rival Terrapins.
"One of the things that has been a big part of my career has been the rivalry with Maryland," Ryan said.
Senior guard Liz Sahin tied her career high with 13 points in the match-up, going 5 for 8 shooting and grabbing six rebounds.
Sahin shared the similar sentiments of her teammate Teamer after Maryland worked their way back into the game.
"We were just really upset we let them come back," Sahin said.
Virginia is now .500 in the ACC and can move into third place in the conference with a win at home against Florida State this Sunday.
Ryan said she understands the importance of this upcoming game but will not let it worry her.
This is only the third time this season that Virginia has scored 70 points or more in a game. The Cavaliers also held Maryland to shooting only 33 percent from the floor in the win.
Virginia will need another strong offensive performance and a solid defensive mentality this Sunday to try and move into third place in the ACC.
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