The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

Second-half run sparks Cavalier win over Hoyas

Georgetown Women's Basketball Coach Patrick Knapp's scream was loud enough for the entire U-Hall crowd to hear.

With just over four minutes left in the game and the Cavaliers leading 59-49 thanks to a 21-10 run, the visibly frustrated Knapp called a timeout and yelled at his team to "get over here!"

The Hoyas (11-5, 2-3 Big East) were unable to come back from the 10-point deficit and fell to the Cavaliers (8-10, 2-5 ACC), 69-57.

Sophomore guard Cherrise Graham led the Cavaliers with 23 points, including 3-4 from behind the arc, and tied for the team high with six rebounds.

The Cavaliers broke open this close contest in the second half when the pace of the game quickened.

"We sped things up and used our athleticism a little better," Virgina Coach Debbie Ryan said. "We ran the ball harder and penetrated.That was what we had planned to do from the start, but we played a much slower game for some reason in the beginning of the half.Forcing some turnovers helped a lot too."

The Virginia defenders did more than just frustrate Knapp. They forced Georgetown's top two scorers, guard Mary Lisicky and center Rebekah Brunson, into shooting a combined 11-of-37 from the field and held the Hoyas to 33.9 percent shooting for the game. The Cavaliers also out-rebounded Georgetown, 40-32.

"I was real pleased with our rebounding tonight," Ryan said. "I thought we did a much better job boxing out and finishing plays and coming up with the basketball."Even the guards did a pretty good job on the boards tonight."

Three out of Virginia's top four rebounders yesterday were guards.Along with Graham's six, junior guard Safiya Grant-Fairley pulled down six boards of her own and sophomore guard LaTonya Blue added five.

Sophomore center Brandi Teamer also grabbed six rebounds and contributed 14 points to help the Cavaliers rebound from Thursday's 55-46 loss at Florida State.

"Last game against FSU we didn't rebound well at all, and we knew we were capable of doing much better," Teamer said. "So, that was one of our goals coming in, to out-rebound this team."

The Cavaliers broke a 21-21 tie with a 7-0 run and ended the half with a 32-26 lead.

Georgetown came back from the halftime deficit and took a 39-38 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining on a Shawntese Charles layup.

The Hoyas were unable to hold the lead for long, however. Graham made two free throws only a minute and a half later to put the Cavaliers up for good.Graham was a perfect six-for-six from the line, extending her school record for consecutive free throws made to 28

- a streak that she has built over the last four games.

Junior guard Anna Prillaman sat out the first half after suffering from flu-like symptoms throughout the week.She came in with just over 12 minutes left and played the remainder of the contest, sparking a 12-1 run.

Yesterday's victory was Virginia's third in its last four games. The win also improved the Cavaliers to 6-2 at home.

Virginia heads to No.9 North Carolina on Thursday looking to snap its eight-game road-losing streak.

Local Savings

Comments

Puzzles
Hoos Spelling
Latest Video

Latest Podcast

Since the Contemplative Commons opening April 4, the building has hosted events for the University community. Sam Cole, Commons’ Assistant Director of Student Engagement, discusses how the Contemplative Sciences Center is molding itself to meet students’ needs and provide a wide range of opportunities for students to discover contemplative practices that can help them thrive at the University.