The UVa. women’s basketball team (13-15, 6-9 ACC) fell 83-63 to Miami (15-13, 7-8 ACC) in UVa’s final regular-season home game of the 2013-14 campaign.
Virginia led by 11 points with 7:48 remaining in the first half and held a 36-32 advantage at halftime, but the hot-shooting Hurricanes outscored Virginia 51-27 in the second half to move past UVa in the ACC standings. Miami shot 55.7 percent in the game including going 21-of-34 in the second half (61.8 percent) while Virginia went 18-of-64 (28.1 percent) for the game.
“We are obviously disappointed with this outcome on our senior night,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “Miami just came in and never gave up. We took a lead, but they fought back and never looked back. They gained confidence while we were just individuals out there and didn’t play our own game or a team game.”
Ataira Franklin (Bowie, Md.), one of three players recognized prior to tip as part of the annual “Senior Day” ceremony, finished with 17 points, three rebounds and three steals. Fellow senior Kelsey Wolfe (Germantown, Md.) scored eight points, all in the first half, with five rebounds and two steals. Junior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) scored 12 points with eight rebounds.
Miami had four players finish in double-figures, including two with 20-point games. Keyona Hayes scored a game-high 22 points, going 10-of-12 from the field, with nine rebounds and two assists. Adrienne Motley scored 21 points with seven rebounds and four assists. Krystal Saunders scored 11 points. Suriya McGuire scored 13 points with four rebounds and four assists.
Virginia started the game making four of its first six shots. A pair of three-pointers in a 19-second span, one from freshman guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) and the other from Franklin, helped the Cavaliers take an early 11-3 lead. After the Hurricanes narrowed the gap to five, a three-pointer from sophomore guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) expanded the UVa advantage to 25-17 with 8:26 remaining. Three free throws from Wolfe capped the 5-0 run that gave Virginia its largest advantage, 28-17, with 7:48 remaining.
The Hurricanes, who shot 48.1 percent in the first half to the Cavalier’s 31.2 percent, chipped away at the lead with Virginia holding a 36-32 lead into the break.
In the second half, Miami took a 49-43 lead with 15:11 remaining after converting seven-straight field goal attempts while UVa went 0-of-7 during that same span. Miami started the second half going 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the field while Virginia made four of its first 15 attempts (26.6 percent).
The Cavaliers close out the regular season at Florida State (18-9, 6-8) on Sunday, March 2 at 12:30 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla. The game will be televised live on ESPN-U as well as being broadcast on the radio on wina 1070-AM. Virginia defeated then-ranked No. 17 Florida State 85-68 on Jan. 19 in Charlottesville.
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Chris Graham
