Virginia headed to Dayton, Ohio to take on the Flyers in what needed to be a bounce-back game following a tough loss to Georgia. But the Cavaliers (1-3, 0-0 ACC) were unable to recover from the start, and headed back to Charlottesville with a 61-46 defeat.
Freshman guard Brianna Tinsley received her first career start in the contest as Virginia Coach Joanne Boyle adjusted her opening lineup, trying to find a five-player lineup that could combine both chemistry and production.
The Cavaliers could not buy a bucket early, scoring just two points in the opening five minutes of the first quarter. Both teams failed to reach double digits in the first 10 minutes of the defensive slugfest. After one quarter, the score was tied up at nine a piece. Senior forward Lauren Moses led the way for the Cavaliers with five points.
Boyle tried to get some offense flowing in the opening minutes of the second quarter using her defense and setting up a full court press. She hoped to make the Flyers play faster than they wanted, forcing turnovers and easy buckets.
The Flyers (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10) potent offense began to click right before halftime, stretching their lead. Numerous turnovers prevented Virginia from truly getting into an offensive flow in the first half, and they trailed 29-21 at halftime.
Offense stalled again in the third quarter, with neither team able to add to their point totals in almost three minutes.
Virginia’s main issue was its lack of rebounding ability, constantly giving up extra chances to the Flyers’ offense and preventing easy transition attempts. Virginia sophomore guard Dominique Toussaint finally got into a rhythm late in the third quarter, an unexpectedly slow start for the team’s leading scorer at 15.3 points per game.
Early in the second half, the Flyers got back-to-back threes to push the Virginia deficit back to nearly double-digits. The Cavaliers found themselves down 38-29 after three quarters.
Constantly outrebounded on the glass, Virginia gave way to many second-chance opportunities by failing to finish the defensive position with a clean board.
The Cavaliers could not get over the hump and fell to the Flyers, 61-46. There were too many possessions given up, whether it was on turnovers or the offensive glass.
Virginia heads back to Charlottesville for a Tuesday 7 p.m. matchup against Hampton at John Paul Jones Arena.
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