Women’s Basketball: UVA defeats ODU in OT, 56-53

The UVA women’s basketball team (3-3) picked up a 56-53 overtime victory over ODU (3-1) on Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena.

Freshman guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (Camden, Del.) had a breakout performance, scoring 31 points, going 10-of-18 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Lucas also logged her first career double-double by grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

Old Dominion’s Victoria Morris scored 26 points, going 8-of-18 from three-point range.

Old Dominion led by 11 points in the third quarter and held a five-point lead heading into the final minute of play, but the Cavaliers battled back, with senior guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) hitting a game-tying three with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

In overtime, Virginia held a 54-50 lead with 11 seconds remaining, but a three-pointer from Morris cut the lead to one. After an immediate foul, Virginia made one of two free throws to go up 55-53, before Kornegay-Lucas stole the ensuing inbound pass with 3.0 seconds remaining to give possession back to UVA and seal the victory.

“Thank goodness for Kylie [Kornegay-Lucas],” UVA coach Tina Thompson said. “We started that game horribly. My team wasn’t recognizable in that first half. We just did so many things that were not reminiscent or familiar of who we are. Of course, you have games like that, and you expect it to happen maybe for a quarter or a few minutes but for it to happen for a whole half and then half of a quarter? You do a whole lot of things – substitutions, changing plays, changing personnel and putting people in positions to do what they do individually to give us a spark. Kylie did an awesome job of stepping up and doing what she does, especially for a first-year player. We expect so much from our first-year kids, but Kylie was above and beyond that today. Without the effort that she had today…I don’t think we get back in that game.”