Last night, Virginia was unable to find the answers to the problems that have plagued the team all year and lost to Georgia Tech, 87-70.
The story of the season has become all too familiar for the Cavaliers (15-10, 6-6 ACC): a sluggish first half followed by an unsuccessful last-minute comeback.
"The effort tonight in the first half was awful," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "They did not come out ready to play. I think we entered this game thinking it was just going to happen."
Yellow Jacket center Sonja Mallory gave the Cavaliers a rude awakening with eight points and six rebounds in the first half. Mallory's layup nine minutes into the game sparked an 18-4 Georgia Tech run that resulted in a 36-30 halftime score in favor of the Yellow Jackets (12-10, 3-8).
Georgia Tech's lead fluctuated between 6 and 10 points in the second half before Virginia finally found a lineup that seemed to work.
Elena Kravchenko and Katie Tracy contributed to a 12-3 run that cut Virginia's deficit to one point with a little over 6 minutes left to play.
Following Svetlana Volnaya's missed free throw and Schuye LaRue's turnover, Georgia Tech junior guard Milli Martinez scored seven straight points and pushed the Jacket advantage back to eight at the 4-minute mark. This lead proved insurmountable as the swarming Georgia Tech defense held the Cavaliers at bay.
"I think we made a really big shot," Jacket coach Agnus Berenato said. "We got a hold on defense. We came back and scored again."
Although Virginia's 18 turnovers hurt the Cavaliers' chance at victory, the most obvious problem was the Yellow Jacket's dominance on the boards. Entering the game as the ACC's best rebounding team, Georgia Tech out-rebounded Virginia 55-37 and converted those extra attempts into 32 second-chance points.
"We felt that we're a much smaller team," Berenato said. Rebounding "is not about size, it's about heart. I think the team has really learned a lot about angles and how to get rebounds."
Georgia Tech had four players score in double figures, including a team-high 20 points by Martinez.
"Milli came in and was our sixth man tonight," Berenato said. "She's used to being a starter. I thought what she did was phenomenal."
LaRue led Virginia with 24 points and 18 rebounds. Volnaya also contributed 18 points, and Anna Prillaman scored 11 points in 21 minutes.
One bright spot for the Cavaliers was the play of Kravchenko. Coming off the bench and playing 22 minutes, the senior center had four points, four rebounds and five blocked shots.
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