UVa. women take out Indiana in ACC-Big 10 Challenge

The Virginia women’s basketball team defeated Indiana, 65-49, in the 2011 BigTen/ACC Challenge Thursday (Dec. 1) at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers improved to 6-2 on the season and 4-0 at home.

With the loss, Indiana’s record went to 2-4. Virginia improved to 4-1 in all-time contests in the Challenge, now in its fifth year, and 3-0 all-time vs. the Hoosiers.

Sophomore guard Ataira Franklin (Bowie, Md.) scored aseason-high 16 points to lead four Cavaliers in double figures for scoring. Franklin added six rebounds and tied a career-high with four steals.

Senior guard Ariana Moorer (Woodbridge, Va.) also put together a solid all-around effort for UVa, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven boards and dishing out four assists. Moorer has now scored at least 10 points in six-consecutive games.

Senior forward Chelsea Shine (Wayne, Pa.) scored 12 points and had seven rebounds.

Virginia gained its largest lead of the first half at the 4:44 mark when two free throws by Moorer put Virginia up, 25-9. From that point, the Hoosiers ended the first stanza on a 16-2 run, including 13-consecutive unanswered points in the final 3:35, to pull within 27-25 at the break.

In the second half, Indiana was able to tie the game at the 19:39 mark, 27-27, on a lay-up by Sasha Chaplin but the Cavaliers countered with a basket from China Crosby (New York, N.Y.), a free throw by Franklin and a jumper by Shine to take a 32-27 lead with 17:48 remaining in the game.

Virginia remained in control down the stretch and extended its lead first to double digits and eventually to 16 points.

Indiana’s high-scorer was Aulani Sinclair with 12 points.

The Cavaliers out-rebounded the Hoosiers, 44-39, and held a 22-14 advantage in points in the paint.

Crosby finished with 10 points as the fourth Cavalier in double figures, while Simone Egwu (Odenton, Md.) returned to the starting line-up after spending two games coming off the bench and contributed six points and eight rebounds.

Up next for the Cavaliers is a Sunday (Dec. 4) road game at Richmond. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.