Cavs split weekend pair

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The Virginia women's basketball team split a pair of road games in North Carolina this weekend, falling to No. 23 North Carolina Friday before defeating NC State Sunday.

In Friday's contest, Virginia made just 9-of-33 first-half field goal attempts and the Tar Heels (17-5, 7-2 ACC) used a 10-0 first-half run to turn a 12-11 deficit into a nine-point edge.

Coming out of halftime, North Carolina led 35-24. After trailing by as much as 16 in the second half, the Cavaliers (17-8, 5-6 ACC) stormed back to knot the score at 54-54 off a rebound and put-back by senior guard Arianna Moorer, who scored a game-high 21 points and tallied six steals and six turnovers.

North Carolina junior guard Candace Wood scored the game's final seven points to help the Tar Heels escape with the victory.

Sophomore guard Ataira Franklin finished with a game-high 20 points against the Wolfpack (14-10, 4-7 ACC), including three buckets from behind the arc. Virginia staved off a late 12-0 NC State run to hold on for a 55-47 victory.

Virginia shut down the NC State offense for much of the first half Sunday, holding the Wolfpack scoreless for the game's first eight minutes as they opened up an 8-0 lead. The Cavaliers had their own offensive struggles, however, making just 10-of-32 first-half field goals to go into the break leading 22-21.

NC State took its first lead, 27-26, on a lay-up by senior forward Bonae Holston with 15 minuted 36 seconds to play, but Virginia responded with a 16-3 run. During the run, back-to-back threes by Franklin off assists from junior guard Lexie Gerson highlighted the Cavaliers' potential for a strong offense. Virginia eventually opened up an 18-point lead with less than four minutes to play.\nVirginia now has five games remaining on its schedule and will host Clemson (6-15, 2-8 ACC) Sunday in the annual "Pink Zone" game to raise breast cancer awareness.

-compiled by Daniel Weltz