In a see-saw game where both teams held double-digit leads, sophomore forward Cherrise Graham hit four straight free throws to give Virginia a 58-54 win over N.C. State last night at U-Hall.
The Cavaliers (11-12, 5-7 ACC) were unable to convert any field goals in the last five minutes and let a 13-point second half lead dwindle to one with 1:20 remaining.
Graham drew a foul on a layup attempt with 1:09 left and drained both shots to give the Cavaliers a three-point lead. The Wolfpack (10-13, 5-7), who were outscored by Virginia 17-8 down the stretch, went 2-of-4 from the line in the last minute and a half en route to their fifth loss in their last six contests.
"We had a 13-point lead and we squandered it," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "We were really stagnant offensively over the last couple minutes. I was a little disappointed in that, but I was real proud of this team because a month ago we would have lost this game. Now we are learning to withstand adversity when a team comes back on us."
Despite shooting only 32.7 percent from the field and falling behind by 15 points midway through the first half, the Cavaliers hung on for their sixth straight home win and improved to 5-3 in their last eight ACC games.
After falling into a 25-10 hole, the Cavaliers implemented a rigorous full court press and answered back with a 17-2 run to tie the score at 27.
"In the first part of the game we just weren't playing good defense," Ryan said. "I thought the half court defense was much better and the full court pressure really bothered them."
Sophomore forward Brandi Teamer led Virginia with 15 points and nine rebounds. Teamer, who came off the bench just as the Cavaliers began their comeback, scored five straight points during the stretch.
"I couldn't see N.C. State beating us on our home court," Teamer said. "I asked [Ryan] to put me back in and I tried to provide as much energy and do everything I could to get everybody energized. Everybody did a good job at following my lead."
The Cavaliers went ahead on sophomore LaTonya Blue's free throws with 47 seconds left in the first half and went into the locker room holding their first lead of the game.
Graham scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half and went 7-for-9 from the line. Graham is the ACC's third best free throw shooter, making 81 percent from the line on the season.
Center Kayal Chones scored six points in the last 10 minutes of the game to help ignite the Wolfpack comeback. It was forward Carisse Moody, however -- NC State's leading scorer with 16 points -- who missed 2-of-4 from the line in the last minute.
The Cavaliers outrebounded the Wolfpack 38 to 34 and went to the line 10 more times than N.C. State, converting 20 free throws to the Wolfpack's 11.
In the last meeting between the two squads in January, the Cavaliers lost by one point in a similarly low scoring affair, 50-49. This is third time Virginia defeated an ACC opponent at home after having lost to them on the road earlier in the season. The other two wins both came last week against Wake Forest and Clemson.
Virginia travels to Georgia Tech this Saturday to face a Yellow Jacket squad the Cavaliers defeated at U-Hall in January. Virginia has lost 10 straight road games and is 0-6 away from home against conference opponents.
The Cavaliers then travel to Maryland Thursday night before returning home against FSU.
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