RALEIGH, N.C.-After a heart-stopping double-overtime victory against Wake Forest Sunday with freshman Anna Prillaman taking charge at the point guard position, you would think the Cavaliers had all the consistency they needed to repeat their Jan. 2 win over N.C. State, right?
Wrong.
Virginia hit the floor flat-footed, gave up the first nine points to the Wolfpack and took almost 5 minutes to score. By the end of the first half, the Cavaliers had posted 17 turnovers that translated into 18 points for the 'Pack, and had dug their way into what coach Debbie Ryan called, "a pretty good hole."
Even after fighting back at halftime with a seven-point run, the Cavaliers could not find it in them to pull ahead of N.C. State.
Meanwhile, momentum and consistent play were exactly what N.C. State had going for them.
Feeding off an aggressive home crowd, the Wolfpack capitalized on Virginia's 28 turnovers and lackluster defense. Sophomore guard Ivy Gardner had a team-high 16 points and said that her offensive success partly was due to "more confidence in the team," after their impressive victory Monday against Florida State.
"I really like the way the team is playing so strongly together right now," N.C. State coach Kay Yow said.
If only Debbie Ryan could say the same.
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