Knoxville, Tenn. -EThe Virginia women's basketball team ended its season with its biggest loss of the year last night, suffering an 81-51 drubbing at the hands of No. 4 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in second round NCAA tournament play.
The Lady Volunteers (29-4) never trailed in the game and the Cavaliers (17-14) could not contain the Tennessee offense in the second half, allowing a season-high 48 points in the last 20 minutes, including 22 points in the paint.
"Tennessee was just too much for us inside," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "They were pounding the ball inside and we just couldn't stop them."
Tennessee dominated the second half, netting the first eight points to gain a 16-point lead with 18 minutes to go. The Lady Volunteers never looked back from there, outscoring the Cavaliers by 19 in the second stanza.
The Cavaliers got as close as 12 when sophomore guard Cherrise Graham hit a leaner from the baseline with 10:45 left, but Tennessee exploded on a 19-3 run to gain a 19-point advantage with just under 5 minutes remaining.
Graham led Virginia with 14 points and was the only Cavalier to score double digits. Tennessee had five double-digit scorers, led by sophomore forward Shya Ely's 17.
Sophomore guard LaTonya Blue added nine points for Virginia and led the team with seven rebounds, but committed a team-high seven turnovers. The Cavaliers were plagued by turnover woes throughout the contest, giving the ball up 23 times.
"We turned the ball over too much," Ryan said. "Tennessee really stepped up its defense."
The Lady Volunteer defense held the Cavaliers to 27.4 percent from the field, their second-lowest shooting performance of the season. Tennessee also succeeded in shutting down Virginia's primary threat in the post, sophomore center Brandi Teamer. Teamer finished with only five points and four rebounds.
Junior forward Anna Crosswhite also had trouble putting the ball through the hoop. Crosswhite made her second straight start last night after scoring a team-high 17 points against Illinois on Saturday, but shot 0-8 from the field last night, finishing with only three points.
Tennessee jumped out to an early 14-3 lead in just over seven minutes, nine of which were netted by Ely. The Cavaliers moved within three points when Graham drove the length of the court and sunk a layup with 3:11 left in the half, but the Lady Volunteers closed out the first stanza with an 8-2 run, leaving Virginia with a 33-24 halftime deficit.
"I thought the beginning of the game was where our problems started," Ryan said. "We played very hard and had the proper game plan, but just couldn't put the ball in the basket."
The Cavaliers out-rebounded Tennessee 23 to 21 in the first half but shot a measly 27 percent from the field. Virginia also gave up 12 turnovers to the Lady Volunteers' 10.
The win moves Tennessee to 11-1 all-time against the Cavaliers and 42-0 on its home floor in the NCAA tournament. The Lady Volunteers will face the winner of tomorrow night's South Carolina/Penn St. game in third round action Saturday.
Virginia came into last night's game with a successful history in second round play, winning 12 of their previous 13 second-round contests.
The Cavaliers' 14 losses this season are the most for a Virginia team since 1978, but the squad still managed to secure its 20th straight NCAA tournament appearance after closing out the regular season with six straight wins.
"It was definitely a growing season for us," Crosswhite said. "I think the fact that we turned it around when we could have quit showed that we had some character."
Virginia opened its ACC season with four straight losses, but recovered to finish in third place with a 9-7 in-conference mark. Although the Cavaliers graduate senior guards Liz Sahin and Karen Jaeger, the young squad returns its starting lineup for next season.
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