Despite a solid second-half effort, Virginia was unable to overcome a 20-point halftime deficit, as the Cavaliers fell 83-74 to the No.6 Terrapins in front of a crowd of 7,107 at the John Paul Jones Arena.
"It's tough taking losses, but we fought hard," junior point guard Sharnee Zoll said. "We never gave up. If we didn't dig ourselves such a hole in the first half and the start of the second half, it would have been a lot different."
Freshman guard Monica Wright led Virginia (14-11, 3-7 ACC) with 19 points. Zoll scored 16 and dished out four assists, while sophomore forward Lyndra Littles tallied 14 while pulling down a career-high 16 rebounds.
Maryland (24-3, 8-3 ACC) scored the first bucket of the game on a layup by senior guard Shay Doron and never trailed thereafter. Five Terrapins finished with double-digit scoring totals. Junior forward/center Crystal Langhorne notched 19 points, while sophomore wing Marissa Coleman poured in 18.
Virginia has now lost its past four meetings with Maryland.
The Terrapins possessed a clear size advantage over the Cavaliers and used that to their benefit, as Maryland out-scored the Cavaliers 42-28 in the paint. Virginia was also out-rebounded 52-42.
The Cavaliers were hampered by senior center Siedah Williams' early foul trouble. Williams picked up her third foul with 12:52 remaining in the first half. She finished the game with seven points and five rebounds over 16 minutes of playing time.
"Once she went out, that's a lot of our rebounding right there, and that really hurt us," Ryan said.
Ryan was assessed a technical foul with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter after a series of questionable refereeing decisions went against Virginia.
"It's been 15 years since I've gotten a technical," Ryan said. "I just walked on the court and stayed after [the official]. It was a buildup of what I felt was going on and I was just trying to stand up for my players. I didn't say anything disrespectful. I'm not that kind of a person."
The Cavaliers fell behind by as many as 28 points early in the second half before closing the game with a 39-20 run.
"Virginia showed tremendous fight in terms of not giving up," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "They were the more aggressive team in the second half."
After being held to four points in the first half, Littles scored 10 in the second half and posted her 12th double-double of season.
"I thought [Maryland] did a good job of playing her tendencies a little bit," Ryan said of Littles' struggles in the first half. "She was trying to force the puzzle piece the way she wanted it and that wasn't the way it was supposed to be. She finally figured it out in the second half. I thought she got more comfortable in the second half."
Virginia has four regular season games remaining, three of which will be on the road. If the Cavaliers hope to keep their faint NCAA Tournament hopes alive, they likely will have to win all four, starting with Thursday evening's showdown against the Hokies in Blacksburg.
"There is no room for error but we're going to be alright," Ryan said. "We know how to play with adversity. I have a lot of faith in these kids."
Read More
Volleyball holds off Boston College in tight five-set win
By Lauren Halak | 10 hours agoSenior outside hitter Elayna Duprey led the team throughout the match with 22 points and 18 kills.
Virginia annihilated 41-14 in a must-win contest versus North Carolina
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayJust about everything that could have gone wrong for Virginia football went wrong.
No. 24 women’s soccer not to be denied in late win over Clemson
By Sam Chun | YesterdayThe Cavaliers topped Clemson 1-0 in front of a packed out Klöckner Stadium.
