It was the final minute of the game Sunday — Virginia was up by a mere three points, and Syracuse was frantically looking for an opportunity to tie the game. One missed three-point shot came after another, and with a reach-in foul ending the game, the fate of the teams was decided. The Cavaliers (12-11, 4-7 ACC) stole a victory at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., while the Orange (8-13, 2-8) were left speechless.
After coming back from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter, Virginia utilized its dynamic duo — sophomore guard Kymora Johnson and senior forward Latasha Lattimore — to claw back from Syracuse’s comfortable lead. Treading water throughout the game, the Cavaliers could take a deep breath when the final buzzer sounded and announced that Virginia won 70-67.
Previously, the Orange held a four-game win streak against the Cavaliers. This was also the first time in four matchups that Virginia had defeated Syracuse. Although the Cavaliers still have a way to go before they are considered one of the best in the conference, this victory against the Orange was definitely a good start.
All it took was a few minutes. A few minutes turned what was an extremely close game into an easy lead for Syracuse. A handful of plays that transformed the one-point gap the Orange had made by the end of the first half into 14 points with still five minutes left in the third period.
But just like it did against Georgia Tech, Virginia managed to revive its offense when it mattered most during the fourth quarter — going on a 9-0 run in the third quarter to close the 14-point lead to just five, but not tying the score until the final period.
While some aggressive offensive set-ups by Johnson helped give the team some points, the savior for Virginia today was Lattimore. She broke her career-high of 25 points that she just earned Thursday against Miami by one point, and had 24 shot attempts — allowing her teammates to play through her to build a lead.
The Orange also had a player that was difficult to shut down — sophomore guard Sophie Burrows. With still five minutes to go in the second period, Burrows had already scored 10 points. While the rest of her team was not as successful in their shooting, Burrows had been performing well enough to carry Syracuse offensively.
However, fueled by Lattimore’s heroics, the fourth quarter was intense. The match was tied for quite a few minutes in the final period. A Syracuse free throw broke it, and the Orange took back in the lead for a few minutes. But just as she had done all afternoon, Lattimore stormed through the defense and scored, putting Virginia in the lead for the first time since the second quarter.
This final period was a transformation from the scrambling seen in the first half as a whole. Six steals and nine Cavaliers turnovers gave Syracuse 14 points, and the Orange only sent Virginia to the free throw line once while the Cavaliers sent them there three times.
However, the desire for a victory was palpable from both teams. Virginia and Syracuse both knew how much they needed a victory. It did not even matter that Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton had played and coached under Syracuse’s Coach Felisha Legette-Jack — while the two were friendly before the game started, both were going to play hard and do whatever it took to secure it.
This meant that there needed to be changes from the matchup against Miami — the lack of a strong offense was not going to cut it if the Cavaliers wanted a chance at winning. But it appeared that this would not be a worry, as something had changed within Virginia.
Three-point shots that usually struggled to go in never missed the net in the first quarter. On top of having a slightly higher shooting accuracy than the Orange, the Cavaliers kept pushing Syracuse to work even harder if it wanted to stay in the game.
The Orange had a similar attitude, though — and this balance resulted in seven lead changes during the first half. By out-rebounding and reducing personal fouls, Syracuse forced Virginia to make the most of its possessions.
The Cavaliers knew that if they wanted to take the lead and widen it in the second half, they would need to shut Burrows down and set Lattimore for more offensive success. While this shutdown of Burrows’ shooting never happened, and she had a career-high of 22 points, there was enough of an offensive surge by Virginia that Burrows did not become the game-deciding factor.
Instead, Lattimore was the difference-maker. And the Cavaliers sorely needed it. Escaping Syracuse with an ACC win matters, as Virginia will soon host No. 25 Florida State Thursday evening. If the Cavaliers can manage to pull off a victory against the Seminoles (17-4, 7-2 ACC) and take down one of the best teams in the conference, they will be able to prove that they might be ready for ACC Tournament play when the time comes.
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