UVa. women knock off UNC in double-OT

  
Staff Report
UVa. sports: www.virginiasports.com

No. 21 Virginia defeated No. 20 North Carolina, 82-78, in double overtime on Monday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) led all scorers with 33 points, while Telia McCall (Marietta, Ga.) hauled down 20 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Virginia improved to 19-6 overall and 8-3 in the conference. The Cavaliers snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Tar Heels, winning for the first time since March 2, 2003 (a 69-59 victory at University Hall). UNC dropped its fifth-straight contest, making its record 16-8 overall and 4-6 in the ACC.

Wright was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line, and added nine rebounds in addition to her 33 points. It was her league-leading sixth 30-point game of the season and she moved up another spot on the ACC’s all-time scoring list. With 2,384 points for her career, she passed NC State’s Genia Beasley (1977-80; 2,367 points) and now is in third place. 

McCall’s 20 rebounds were one shy of the school record, 21, set by Aisha Mohammed in 2008. It was the first 20-rebound game by an ACC player this season.

North Carolina’s Italee Lucas led the Tar Heels with 27 points, and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with under two seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 69-69 and forced overtime.

In the first overtime period, Paulisha Kellum (Upper Marlboro, Md.) had back-to-back lay-ups for the Cavaliers with the second one giving them a 74-73 lead with 2:08 left to play. With 28 seconds left, Chay Shegog went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to tie the game at 74-74. Neither team got a shot off in the remaining seconds and a second overtime period began.

McCall’s pair of free throws with 1:45 left put the Cavaliers up, 80-78, and this time there would be no heroics from Lucas, as her 3-point attempt with 1:07 left was off the mark. After a miss by Waltiea Rolle, UVa’s Ariana Moorer (Woodbridge, Va.) sealed the game for the Cavaliers with two free throws.

Moorer finished with 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Kellum added seven points and eight boards for the Cavs, while McCall chipped in nine points in addition to her career-high 20 rebounds.

Chelsea Shine (Wayne, Pa.) and Lexie Gerson (Fort Washington, Pa.) finished with eight points apiece.

The last double-overtime game for UVa was on March 2, 2008 – a 103-101 victory over Georgia Tech at JPJA.