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Virginia snaps losing streak in home finale

The Cavaliers aren't usually the queens of consistency but they grabbed the lead and held on to it early against Wake Forest last night, rolling to a 75-61 win.

Just minutes after seniors Anna Prillaman, Anna Crosswhite, and Safiya Grant-Fairley were honored in front of the home crowd, Virginia took the court with an energy and rhythm rarely achieved so early by the self-proclaimed second half team.

"The whole team was focused on giving [the seniors] a great game tonight," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "We started the game on fire."

The Cavaliers' communication, movement, and passing were especially on target against the Demon Deacons, allowing Virginia to pull ahead by as many as 13 and hold a double digit lead for much of the first half.

"I was really pleased with our movement, our motion," Ryan said. "To score 37 points in the first half -- that's really a good thing for this team. We have not done that in awhile."

Wake Forest sophomore forward Liz Strunk, averaging 13.2 points was a major threat to the Cavaliers coming into the contest. She came up big in the second half, finishing the game with 25 points, but was held to only eight points in the first half. Energetic and physical defense by the Cavaliers, especially sophomore forward Tiffany Sardin, held Strunk back in the first half while major offensive contributions by junior forward Jocelyn Logan-Friend and Prillaman kept Strunk from affecting the outcome of the game.

Logan-Friend, in addition to having the motivation of the home finale and senior night, had the memory of Sunday's loss to Florida State. With the score tied and just seconds on the clock, Logan-Friend was called for a technical foul for excessive celebration.

"That was pretty rough for me," Logan-Friend said. "I had a hard time with it but my teammates and my coaches really encouraged me and told me that we had another game to win."

Logan-Friend had absolutely nothing to apologize for after last night's game in which she put up a career high 15 points and earned her first double-double with 10 rebounds.

"She took a lot of responsibility for [Sunday's loss]," Ryan said. "To see her come out today and really play a career game -- it was exactly what I expected from her."

The contest was entirely different from Virginia's last-second victory over the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem earlier in the season. Wake dominated that game only to have the win stolen from them by LaTonya Blue's jumper with 14 seconds on the clock.

The environment of senior night was undoubtedly a factor in the difference of the last game against Wake Forest. Last night the seniors combined for 27 points in addition to changing the tone and energy of their teammates.

Prillaman sunk 16 points, nine of which came from behind the arc.

"It had to end like that," Prillaman said. "There was no other way."

The Cavaliers will end the regular season at Chapel Hill Sunday at 1:00 p.m. They will take the No. 16 Tar Heels with ACC Tournament seeding on the line. Virginia's last game against UNC ended in a 75-70 loss after being within one point with 20 seconds to go.

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