After only seven free throw attempts and four misses in its last game, the Virginia women’s basketball team practiced foul shots minutes before Thursday night’s game against NC State — and it paid off. The Cavaliers (14-7, 4-4 ACC) made 14 of 17 from the charity stripe, including four clutch points in the last minute, to snap their three-game losing streak with a 71-63 win.
“I’m glad it was a gritty win and not a pretty win because I needed them to feel that way, especially in the last five minutes of the game,” coach Joanne Boyle said. “I thought we got the majority of the 50/50 balls down the stretch. I thought we did a great job of boxing out down the stretch. We made our free throws — all the things we talked about.”
NC State only made two of its last 15 shots to close out the game and give Virginia the win, but it was a different story for both teams before that 8:55 stretch.
In what seems to be a recurring theme for the Cavaliers, NC State started the game with several steals and easy layups. The Wolfpack made eight of its first buckets on layups and had 18 points in the paint in the first half compared to the Cavaliers’ six.
Yet the Cavaliers stayed in the game, hitting six of seven 3-pointers in the half and finishing with 11 long-range makes on 15 attempts. The Cavaliers shined in an area of play they struggled with in their three-game losing streak, making nine of 37 attempts from the beyond the arc.
“We know we’re great shooters,” junior guard Faith Randolph said. “[A]nd I think that having those types of stretches, you’ve just got to be confident in your shot and you know when the shot you get, just take it and shoot it with confidence.”
The Wolfpack held a 17-12 lead with 10:47 to go in the half before the Cavaliers made back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by another one minute later to tie the game, 21-21. NC State made another layup at the 7:49 mark to retake the lead, 23-21, but did not make another easy bucket for the rest of the half. In the second half, the Wolfpack scored only 10 points in the paint, as did Virginia.
“I think we just really changed our mindset,” Randolph said. “We’ve been in situations like this but I think we all came together and said, ‘No this isn’t going to happen again,’ and we got the stops we needed.”
Without the post option, the Wolfpack started shooting jump shots, especially beyond the arc. NC State missed five 3-pointers before making two straight but ended the half with a missed 3 and subsequent layup off an offensive rebound.
“We were trying to double their post a little bit and kind of dig on them, so they were just trying to kick it out and find the open man,” Boyle said. “I think they took some rushed 3s. We got them down to late shot-clock violations, which was nice. [T]here’s just a little more pep in our step.”
NC State continued to attempt 3-pointers in the second half but missed three straight to start the period; the team finished 6-26 from beyond the arc. But Virginia had six turnovers in the first eight minutes of the half and went 1-6 from the field in the last six minutes of that span to allow NC State to take a 51-44 lead with 11:42 to go. The Wolfpack made just two more shots before their offense collapsed with 13 misses on 15 shots.
Freshman guard Mikayla Venson led the Cavaliers with a game-high 22 points on 7-8 shooting. She was perfect from beyond the arc for a program record in 3-point shooting percentage, making six of the Cavaliers’ 11 treys.
“Luckily, I was just hitting my shots today,” Venson said. “The offensive side came and we got our shots and we hit them, but we got defensive stops and that’s what made us get good shots. At the end of the day it was about defense and playing together as a unit.”
Senior guard Dominique Wilson led NC State with 18 points.
The Cavaliers play Clemson Sunday at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina.
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