The UVa. women’s basketball team (12-11, 5-5 ACC) fell 69-65 on the roadThursday night (Feb. 6) at Boston College (12-12, 3-7 ACC).
The Cavaliers held a 15-point lead with 11:05 remaining in the game, but Boston College mounted a 19-2 run, with Virginia only scoring one basket during that span of 7:27. Senior guard Ataira Franklin (Bowie, Md.) made a pair of three-pointers in the final 30 seconds, narrowing the gap to one, 66-65, but Boston College made three free throws in the final seven seconds to cement the victory.
“We need to figure out who we are on the road as this is the second game where we have had a lead and lost it,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “We didn’t understand tonight that taking care of the little things and attention to detail is what is going to win you road games. The rebounding margin wasn’t in our favor. If we had scrapped a little more, rebounded more, boxed out on the free throw line and gotten loose balls, the game would have been ours.”
Franklin finished the game with 15 points, going 3-fo-4 from three-point range and 5-of-9 overall, with seven rebounds and five assists. Redshirt senior guard Lexie Gerson (Fort Washington, Pa.) scored 14 points with six assists and had five of Virginia’s seven steals.
Boston College’s Kelly Hughes scored a game-high 23 points, going 5-of-9 from three-point range, including making three in the second half.
With the score tied 10-10, Virginia took the lead on a pair of Gerson free throws with 12:26 remaining in the first half. After a three-pointer from BC’s Kat Cooper narrowed a once-seven-point gap to two, 21-19, with 7:33 to play in the period, Virginia scored seven-straight points, including an and-one from junior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria), and outscored the Eagles 13-6 in the remainder of the half to take a 34-25 advantage into the break.
A three-pointer by senior guard Kelsey Wolfe (Germantown, Md.) with 16:25 remaining gave Virginia its first double-digit lead, 40-30. An 11-1 run, capped by back-to-back baskets by redshirt freshman guard Raeshaun Gaffney (Fairfield, Ohio), gave Virginia its largest lead, 53-38, with 11:05 remaining. BC scored eight straight points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers, making it 55-46, with Franklin layup with 8:21 remaining temporarily halting the run. The Eagles then scored 11 straight points, tying the game 55-55 on a pair of free throws and then taking a 59-57 lead after converting a Virginia turnover into a layup with 4:13 remaining.
Trailing 65-59 with 25 seconds remaining, Franklin hit a three-pointer to cut the gap in half. After an immediate Virginia foul, Hughes missed both free throw attempts on the opposite end, but BC came up with the rebound. After getting fouled on the rebound, Cooper went to the line, making the first attempt but missing the second. Franklin came up with the rebound, racing down the court and making a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to make it a one-point deficit, 66-65. After an immediate foul, Hughes made both free throws. Virginia turned the ball over and then had to foul again, sending Nicole Boudreau to the line. Boudreau made her first, missed the second, but with only one second left on the clock, Virginia could not get off a shot.
Boston College held a 30-28 edge in rebounding. Virginia held a 12-5 edge in turnovers at the half, but both teams finished the game with 16 apiece.
Virginia now has its bye weekend and will not play again until Thursday, Feb. 13 against Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. The Cavaliers return home on Sunday, Feb. 16 when they host Virginia Tech at 2 p.m., one of three remaining home games in the regular season. The Sunday, Feb. 16 contest against Virginia Tech will be the Cavaliers’ annual Play4Kay Game in which both teams will be wearing pink jerseys. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink to the game that day.
Fans may purchase home game tickets through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone and in person. The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and open Mondaythrough Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).
Single-game ticket prices for all games are $10 for Reserved seating, $8 for adult General Admission and $6 for youth (18 & under), senior (60 & over) and UVa faculty/staff General Admission. Family Packages are available for $11 each and include a reserved ticket and a concessions voucher valued at $8. A minimum of four tickets must be purchased to receive package pricing.
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Chris Graham
