Wake Forest took control with a 12-3 run in the fourth quarter, and cruised from there to a 68-53 win over hapless Virginia on Sunday in Winston-Salem.
Hey, at least Virginia made it to this one, right?
The Cavaliers (3-20, 0-13 ACC) trailed 48-45 entering the fourth quarter, but Wake (13-12, 3-11 ACC) hit its first five shots of the final frame to push the lead to double digits.
Virginia struggled mightily on the offensive end in the fourth, going without a field goal for the final 3:24 and hitting only one of its eight shots in the final seven minutes.
“It was a couple things. Defensive assignments. There were a lot of miscues in that area. And then also our execution. We kind of start relying on our own knowing instead of using our offense and our plays to create opportunities,” UVA coach Tina Thompson said.
Sophomore guard Mir McLean had her first career double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward London Clarkson also tallied 11 points with seven rebounds. Junior guard Taylor Valladay finished with 10 points with four rebounds and four assists.
Jewel Spear led Wake Forest with 17 points, one of four Wake Forest players to finish in double figures.
Thompson used the “broken record” excuse again in the postgame.
“I sound like a broken record, but we have to finish,” Thompson said. “We have to be disciplined, and we have to continue to execute. I mean, the things that we are doing when we’re at our best in the game are what is necessary in order for us to put ourselves in a position to win. We just haven’t found a way to do that from start to finish.”
That would seem to be the coach’s job, but Thompson, who is now 28-61 in four seasons at Virginia, would seem to be running out of chances to get her point across to her charges at this stage.
Story by Chris Graham
Share
Chris Graham
