The Virginia women's basketball team got off to a slow start yesterday, but picked up their play in the second half to win their third straight game, defeating the Georgetown Hoyas, 52-45.
In what seems to be a growing trend for the Cavaliers (12-10, 5-5 ACC), the first half was marked by sloppy play. In the first 15 minutes of the game, Virginia turned the ball over 10 times, resulting in 12 points for the Hoyas.
The Cavaliers also shot the ball poorly early on, ending the half at 9-25 from the field. Fortunately for Virginia, the Hoyas also had trouble finding their shot. Georgetown shot only 28 percent from the field and under 60 percent from the line on 17 attempts.
Despite the turnovers and poor shooting, the Cavaliers went on a run late in the half and were only down by two points at the break. They brought their momentum into the second half, where they fixed their mistakes and took control of the game.
"I thought we started to use our athleticism a lot better in the second half," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "We ran a little bit more and we put pressure on them offensively."
Junior forward Brandi Teamer was the only player to score in double figures for the Cavaliers with 10 points. Similar to her play in last week's game against Maryland, Teamer had a modest first half before exploding in the second half.
"Whatever my team needs me to do in the second half, I try to come out and do," Teamer said. "Whatever we lack in the first half, we try to pick it up in the second half."
Teamer and senior forward Anna Crosswhite contained Georgetown star Rebekkah Brunson to 19 points and 15 rebounds. Brunson has won the Big East player of the week award five times this season.
Virginia's junior guard LaTonya Blue came up big on the boards for the second straight game. In addition to her nine points and three assists, Blue contributed a team-leading 11 defensive rebounds and scrapped for several loose balls.
The starting guard duo of Anna Prillaman and Brenna McGuire combined for nine points on 3-5 shooting from beyond the arc. But Prillaman, who leads the Cavaliers in minutes at 36.6 per game, played only 23 minutes last night because of a bout of food poisoning.
Freshman guard Alisa Wulff came off the bench for Virginia to pick up some of the slack left by Prillaman's illness. She scored five points and gathered four rebounds in 20 minutes of play.
"I know that Alisa's a very physical player, so I took her off the bench," Ryan said. "She did a great job today of hitting threes, rebounding for us and playing good defense."
Contributions from the bench players continued to be an integral part of the Virginia team last night. All 12 players suited for the game saw action, and the seven reserves combined for 28 points and 20 rebounds.
The Cavaliers will look to go above .500 in conference play this Thursday as they return to ACC action at Georgia Tech. Virginia won a close game in the first meeting between the teams this season, 60-59.
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