Jocelyn Logan-Friend sat in cheerful disbelief at the post-game press conference, basking in the limelight after Virginia's 83-70 victory over visiting Dartmouth and one of the best games of her career.
The senior forward earned the right to lighten up following a dominant performance that stretched from the opening whistle to the closing minutes. Logan-Friend led the Cavaliers with a career-high 24 points, making nine of her 12 shots from the floor.
"I'm not going to lie and say I made any Superman moves or anything," Logan-Friend said. "My teammates just found me and I made the layups."
Logan-Friend also emerged victorious from her personal battle with Dartmouth's Elise Morrison, the forward whose 27 points kept her team within sight of the surging Cavaliers. Logan-Friend and Morrison matched each other shot for shot throughout the game, both preferring to score from under the hoop on a backdoor cut.
Logan-Friend's supporting cast on the court included sophomore Brenna McGuire, who hit four three-pointers and was on the floor for a team-high 29 minutes.
McGuire's counterpart, Dartmouth junior Jeannie Cullen, sank five shots from beyond the arc and finished with 21 points.
Although the Dartmouth combination of Morrison and Cullen outscored Virginia's Logan-Friend and McGuire, the Cavaliers received enough help off the bench to put them over the top. Sophomore Siedah Williams contributed 11 points as a reserve, while freshman Takisha Granberry added nine points and two steals of her own.
The Cavaliers were forced to respond to a Dartmouth charge during the first two minutes of the second half, but the combination of Logan-Friend's hot hand and solid bench play helped the team retain the lead for the remainder of the game.
"We made all our easy shots and layups, so that part was better than [the last game against Maryland], but our energy level wasn't what it should be," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said.
An unexpected free-throw streak that lasted until the final two minutes of the game helped make up for the Cavaliers' lapses in energy. The team made every one of its first 15 attempts from the line and came within two minutes of shooting 100 percent for the game. The mark was not meant to be reached, however, as freshman Sharnee Zoll missed her second shot in the closing minutes.
A notable absence from the list of Cavalier high scorers was senior starter LaTonya Blue. The team's second-leading scorer sank only one of her three shots and finished with an uncharacteristic two points.
The Cavaliers will hope for more of a contribution from Blue when they take on ACC rival and nationally-ranked Virginia Tech Friday at University Hall.
"We have a very tough week next week so we have to prepare for a lot of things during these next five days," Ryan said.
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