Thursday night's game marked an important juncture for the Virginia women's basketball season, as this was the first time Coach Mox got to see how her team would respond to a loss. More than a week after suffering their first loss of the season at Duke, the Cavaliers returned to action and had to endure another physical battle.
UVA was once again plagued by foul trouble, especially Mir McLean, who fouled out for the second-straight game, but Virginia outfought Georgia Tech down the stretch to earn a gutsy 69-63 victory on Thursday at John Paul Jones Arena to move to 2-1 on the season.
UVA put together an 11-0 run in the first quarter to take an 11-3 lead against the Yellow Jackets. The scrappy Cavalier defense forced seven Georgia Tech turnovers, and the offensive load was well balanced in the quarter, with no player attempting more than three shots and six players scoring baskets.
Georgia Tech decreased the deficit towards the end of the quarter with a few jump shots, but Virginia led 16-11 after the first 10 minutes. Camryn Taylor had four points and two rebounds in the first period.
Early in the second quarter, Georgia Tech became more aggressive and got to the line, going a perfect 4-4 in the early minutes of the period. Mir McLean sat out the entire second quarter after picking up two fouls in the first and her absence was felt on both ends of the floor. Soon, the teams were tied at 20 apiece. Bianca Jackson had nine early points for Georgia Tech, while the rest of her team had 13 combined points.
With a little over a minute remaining in the half, Virginia’s Kaydan Lawson and Georgia Tech's Ines Noguero traded three pointers. The Cavaliers were 3/5 from long range in the first half. After two made free throws from Bianca Jackson, Georgia Tech led 31-28 at halftime.
The balanced attack from UVA continued, with the leading scorer Kaydan Lawson having five points and nine different players in the scoring column. Mir McLean was the only player who didn’t score, as she was limited to just five minutes after picking up two fouls. The Cavaliers were just 1/4 from the line and 5/13 on layups in the first half, two stats that would be important to improve in the second half.
The Yellow Jackets started out strong in the third quarter and extended their lead to 35-28, but then the resurgent Mir McLean took matters into her own hands with seven straight points for the Cavaliers, and nine of 11 points in a critical scoring stretch. After a layup from Alexia Smith, Virginia retook the lead 41-40.
McLean and Smith were key factors in Virginia’s 15-3 run to take a 49-41 lead and regain control of the game, as the players finished with 11 and seven points in the third quarter, respectively. In the third quarter alone, the Cavaliers had 18 points in the paint, and it was clear that the momentum had switched back to the home team with the way the players were carrying themselves.
The Hoos were an astonishing 11/14 (79%) from the field, and made nine shots in a row. The 27 third quarter points nearly matched the first half production of 28 points. After outscoring Georgia Tech 27-16, UVA led 55-47 heading into the final quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mir McLean picked up her fourth foul while attempting to take a charge. The Cavaliers would have to push through the fourth quarter without the clear MVP of the game. McLean played just 16 minutes in the matchup against Duke because of foul trouble as well, and the Cavaliers clearly miss her dynamic presence when she isn’t on the court. At that moment, UVA led 57-51.
After two missed free throws from UVA, Camryn Taylor controlled a huge offensive rebound and made the putback with the foul, a key three point play. Shortly after, Cameron Swartz drained a three to bring Georgia Tech within five points with six minutes remaining, so Coach Mox called a timeout to prepare her team for the home stretch.
Sam Brunelle scored on a post move and Georgia Tech made one free throw, making it 65-61 with 1:02 remaining. After the UVA defense picked up a steal, Taylor Valladay went 1/2 from the line. Georgia Tech used two offensive rebounds to make a second chance layup, making it a one-possession 66-63 game with 22 seconds remaining.
In veteran fashion, Sam Brunelle made it a two possession game after making two free throws. The stifling Cavalier defense forced the Yellow Jackets to take a tough shot that resulted in an airball and from there it was just a matter of Kaydan Lawson adding one more free throw to the final score, with the Cavaliers taking home the 69-63 victory.
Even though she only played 19 minutes, Mir McLean led the team in points and rebounds with 13 points and nine rebounds. She struggled with foul trouble all game, but was electric in the third quarter, making it easy to wonder what she could do if she played most of the game. After earning the starting spot, Alexia Smith had a great game with ten points, four rebounds, and four assists. Taylor Valladay finished with seven points, six rebounds, and five assists and Carole Miller chipped in eight points, two rebounds, two steals, and a block.
UVA was 14/24 (58%) from the foul line, a clear problem for the team all season. While the Hoos couldn’t capitalize on free throws consistently, they pounded the ball inside with 36 points in the paint, including 15 layups.
With the win, Virginia improves to 13-1 overall and 2-1 in ACC play, matching the team's ACC win total from a season ago. The Cavaliers will have another week off before playing arguably their biggest game of the season as they head to Blacksburg to take on No. 7 Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Thursday, January 5th at 7pm.
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