The Virginia women's basketball team held a slim 59-58 lead over Virginia Tech with 7.7 seconds remaining last night. The Cavaliers in bounded the ball to freshman Takisha Granberry, who was fouled immediately and went to the free throw line. The crowd of 4,820 Hokie fans was screaming at the guard from Charlotte, N.C. Despite the hostile atmosphere, Granberry stepped up, knocked down her two free-throws and secured Virginia's 61-58 win over rival Virginia Tech (14-9, 3-7 ACC).
Coach Ryan "told us to tell ourselves that we love free throws," Granberry said. "I did that and told myself I like this atmosphere and I like all this noise. And that's what made me calm down to make" the shots.
Granberry's free-throws put the finishing touches on a win that snapped a three game slide by the Cavaliers (17-8, 6-5 ACC) and finished a frantic final minutes of play.
Virginia got the lead with four and a half minutes remaining when senior LaTonya Blue hit a lay-up to give the visiting Cavaliers a one-point advantage. Virginia, however, was not in the clear as Hokie guard Carrie Mason hit a three-pointer with 43 seconds left to pull within one. Blue responded for the Cavaliers on the next possession with a jump shot that was preceded by a spin move to get separation.
"I was trying to get my shot more and be more aggressive, and that shot, I don't know [how it went in]," Blue said of her acrobatic jumper.
Tech guard Christie Marrone hit two free throws with eight seconds left to set up Granberry's game-clinching free throws.
The Cavaliers opened the game with a different starting line-up than they have used for most of the season. Forward Brandi Teamer, the team's leading scorer, did not start the game because she was late to the team bus. Senior Kate Kreager started in Teamer's place and scored 10 points in the game. Virginia was able to build an early first-half lead that at its largest was seven points. The Hokies ralled back to within one point with the efforts of senior center Erin Gibson, who scored nine of her 12 points in the opening half. Virginia responded with balanced scoring from the whole team to rebuild its lead to seven again as the half closed. In the first half, no Cavalier player had more than six points as the ball was spread around among the players.
Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan attributed that team-first attitude to helping refocus the Cavaliers.
"The players did a terrific job of figuring [out how to win] without the coach's help on Friday," Ryan said. "They came in with a lot of resolve and character today."
One of the players who turned it around was Blue, who led the team in scoring with 16 points. In the previous two games, Blue had scored a total of three points.
"I had lost my confidence," Blue said. "I was trying to get everyone involved. It just didn't work. I talked to my teammates, and they just have so much confidence in me, I felt like I could step up."
The Cavaliers also got a strong contribution from forward Siedah Williams. Williams came off the bench to score 12 points for Virginia.
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