Even 27 points from sophomore forward Schuye LaRue were not enough to save the Cavalier women's basketball team from defeat at the hands of No. 20 Clemson Monday night at University Hall, 87-71.
In its first loss to the Tigers (13-4, 4-2 ACC) since 1997, Virginia (12-6, 4-2) was strong on offense but was unable to come together effectively on defense.
"At some points we just flat out didn't defend," said Cav coach Debbie Ryan, whose squad is tied with Baylor for the final spot in the national top 25. "We let them have seven wide open threes, and you just can't do that."
Virginia's search for a successor to Renee Robinson at point guard continues. Freshmen Anna Prillaman and Chelsea Whitaker and senior Katie Tracy combined for just five points and five assists in 36 total minutes. But Ryan said she was disappointed particularly with the defense she got at the point.
The lopsided play did not go unnoticed by the players.
"Basically, we don't show up every night to play 30-seconds-at-a-time competitive defense," LaRue said. "That's why we can't stop teams from scoring and score at the same time."
In addition to LaRue's 27, freshman Anna Crosswhite had 12 points and junior guard Telisha Quarles had 11.
"We were concerned because they are such good shooters, and the few times that we did give them the open look uncontested they knocked them down at critical points," Clemson guard Marci Glenney said.
Tiger coach Jim Davis said he was especially worried about Virginia's Svetlana Volnaya, but she came off the bench, made only 1 of 5 shots and posted only eight points.
Clemson, however, enjoyed strong shooting all around. Glenney, a transfer from Connecticut, posted a career-high 21 points. Four of her teammates scored more than 10 points to help Clemson maintain its lead throughout the second half.
Despite Virginia's lapses, Ryan also gave the Tigers credit for stealing an ACC win on the road.
"They made us not play well," she said. "They flat out kicked our butts tonight."
Clemson had the defensive intensity Virginia sorely lacked.
"I thought every girl committed themselves tonight to blocking out and rebounding on the defensive end, and we got some second chance opportunities," Davis said.
This is the Cavaliers' second conference loss, and eight of their nine next games are against ACC opponents, inclunding Duke on Monday.
"The league this season is absolutely wacky," Davis said. "I think Duke may be just a notch above everyone else in this league, but after that there is not a team in this league that can't beat any other team in this league on any given day."
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