When the Virginia women's basketball team opened ACC play with four straight losses, gaining sole possession of third place in the conference spot seemed like an impossible dream.
Yesterday at University Hall, however, Virginia was able to do just that, as the Cavaliers (14-12, 8-7 ACC) defeated Florida State, 63-54, to pull ahead of the Seminoles (15-10, 7-7) in the ACC standings.
"It's a miracle," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said of her team's ascent to third place. "Literally, it's a miracle."
Divine intervention aside, it was sophomore guard Cherrise Graham's 20 points and a stifling Virginia defense that led the team to victory.
The Cavaliers struggled early on, trailing for most of the first half and falling behind 33-31 at the break. The Seminole offense quickly faded, however. The Cavaliers outscored Florida State, 32-21, in the second half and held the Seminoles to an embarrassing 17.9 percent second-half shooting percentage.
"They only had five field goals in the second half, so that was a pretty good job by us," Ryan said. "I think we had more energy, aggressiveness and focus. We did a better job all around playing their tendencies and things."
In the last matchup between the two squads, the Seminoles earned a 55-46 victory, holding Virginia to a season-low in points and outrebounding the Cavaliers, 43-29.
Virginia was able to establish more of a rebounding presence against the Seminoles yesterday, pulling down 36 boards to Florida State's 41. Sophomore forward Jocelyn Logan-Friend grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds, and sophomore guard LaTonya Blue contributed 10 boards.
"That was absolutely huge," Ryan said. "Whenever we needed a big rebound one of them came up with it."
The Seminoles seriously threatened Virginia's hopes of extending its six-game home winning streak with its early offensive success. Junior guard Tasheika Morris hit a jump shot from the corner to put Florida State up 24-15 with 8:28 left in the first half.
The Cavaliers closed the gap in the half's final minutes. Sophomore Brandi Teamer drew a foul with one second left and converted on both free throws to move the Cavaliers within two going into the break.
Virginia gained the lead for the first time since the game's opening minutes on a Teamer layup less than six minutes into the half, but with 11:39 to go only held a thin 41-40 advantage.
Ten seconds later, Blue collected her own rebound on a missed jumper and sunk a short baseline shot, igniting a 22-6 Virginia run that put the team up 63-46 with 3:45 remaining.
Florida State then reeled off eight straight points, but it proved to be too little too late, as the buzzer sounded with the ball in Blue's hands and Virginia still holding a nine-point lead. The victory put the Cavaliers ahead of .500 in the ACC for the first time all year.
"I think we matured a lot from the beginning of the season to now," Graham said. "We know how each other plays so we're playing much better as a team instead of just individuals."
Virginia closes the regular season next Sunday at U-Hall against a No. 6 North Carolina team that handed the Cavaliers a 74-54 defeat in January.
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