In 1996, when Virginia women's basketball Coach Debbie Ryan was on the recruiting trail, she went after a guard from Maryland named Alisha Mosley, who wound up choosing Wake Forest. Four years later, on a day when the three Cavalier seniors were honored, it was the senior that got away who stole the show in the Cavaliers' 77-71 win.
Mosley scored 18 of her 21 points in the second half yesterday and nearly led the Deacons, the cellar dwellers of the ACC, to victory over the first-place Cavaliers. Early in the second half, after the Cavaliers opened up a game-high 16-point lead, Mosley scored the game's next seven points to cut that advantage nearly in half. She also scored six points in the last two minutes to keep the Deacons' hopes alive.
"We realized that we could play with them in the second half," Mosley said.
As the Deacons' hopes for an upset rose in the second half, the Wake shooting guard found her game as well, scoring 18 points and pulling down three rebounds in 17 minutes.
"Alisha started the game out well, but foul trouble hurt her early, and we do need her on the floor," Wake Forest Coach Charlene Curtis said.
The Cavaliers used timely shooting from sophomore guard Telisha Quarles to gain a double-digit advantage at halftime. Her three-pointer from the right wing gave the Cavs a nine-point lead with about three minutes to go in the half. After senior guard Renee Robinson scored the next three points, freshman forward Schuye LaRue made two free throws to stretch the lead to 14.
Wake Forest forward Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick put back a missed shot at the end of the half to cut the Virginia margin to 12.
The Cavaliers felt comfortable with the 12-point halftime lead, but Mosley's surprising play quickly made them uncomfortable.
"I was about to go out there and guard Alisha Mosley myself," Ryan said. "She was just awesome tonight, and we actually recruited Alisha a little bit, so I know she likes to play well against us."
Mosley caught fire with 16 minutes remaining following a layup by Virginia senior Lisa Hosac which gave the Cavs a 16-point advantage. Following a Wake Forest time-out, Mosley converted the front end of a one-and-one. Another time-out further stoked Mosley's fire, and she landed a three-pointer from the left of the key.
Following a Virginia miss, Mosley came off a screen on the right side and buried a three-pointer, causing Ryan to call time-out.
All told, in the span of 1:15, Mosley scored seven consecutive points to cut the Virginia lead to nine.
"The second half, we came out of the locker room, and that's the way we can play every game, the way we played in the second half," Wake guard Kristen Shaffer said. "Everyone stepped it up, looked for their shots. It was a war out there, and we fought hard and Virginia fought hard, and we earned everything we got."
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