Coming off an emotional loss Monday to North Carolina, the No. 24 Virginia women's basketball team looked to put its season back on track against Florida State last night at University Hall. They succeeded in convincing fashion with a 74-59 victory during which the Cavs got ahead early and never looked back.
"I'm very happy with the way we responded to the loss; it was a tough one," Virginia Coach Debbie Ryan said. "I was just glad we were able to overcome it and move on."
Virginia (18-6, 10-2 ACC) moved on with a complete team victory. All five of the Cavs' starters scored in double figures, there was strong support from the bench and Virginia's traditionally tenacious man-to-man defense shut down the Seminoles (9-13, 2-9 ACC), forcing 22 turnovers.
"They had a very well-balanced attack, as they've had all year." Florida State Coach Sue Semrau said. "I thought they did a tremendous job of working the ball around and working our defense until they got great shots."
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"That's kind of been my goal all season: to defend their better post player and make sure that they don't get hot, that they don't get started," said Hosac, who registered 12 points.
Florida State forward Brooke Wyckoff, who averages 11.3-points-per-game, didn't manage a point against the stifling Virginia defense.
"We really feed off of our defense," Hosac said. "We really rely on it. We've really learned how to play team defense."
With 15 points, first year Schuye LaRue led all scorers. The forward also grabbed nine rebounds. Point guard Renee Robinson contributed 12 points, five assists and five boards despite playing only eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
Virginia also got strong performances from the bench. Third-year point guard Katie Tracy controlled the offense during Robinson's first half absence.
"She likes to keep things organized, and she knows what to run," Ryan said. "She's got a lot more confidence in these last couple of weeks."
Third year Elena Kravchenko recorded seven points, two assists and three blocks in 12 minutes on the court.
"I thought our bench did a super job in the first half. I thought they played tremendous," Ryan said.
When these two teams last met on Jan. 9, the result was vastly different. The Cavs won 76-73 as Florida State guard Molly Beal missed a potential game-tying trey with three seconds left.
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"It takes a little more out of you when you're on the road to make those kind of runs," Semrau said.
Ryan said she was disappointed her team did not put the game away sooner.
"We were kind of anxious to get off the court," Ryan said. "Unfortunately I don't think we finished the game as strong as we started it."
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