By Ben Gibson Cavalier Daily Associate Editor The Virginia women's basketball team went 59:58 without trailing their state rival Virginia Tech.
Unfortunately for Virginia, that was two seconds too short.
Hokie guard Kirby Copeland drove to the basket in the waning seconds, missing a lay-up that a wide open Brittany Cook was able to corral and lay in with 1.4 seconds left, sealing the 60-58 heartbreaker.
It was the Hokies' first and only lead of the game, and after sophomore Lyndra Littles attempted a miracle three after the buzzer sounded, the crowd of 4,132 could only watch in disbelief as the Cavaliers squandered a 14-point lead.
"When the clock hit triple zeroes was the first time I thought we were going to lose the game," junior guard Sharnée Zoll said. "We drew up a play we use in practice and it works 90 percent of the time."
For a while it appeared the Cavaliers might catch a break. Despite blowing a 12-point advantage with 12:41 to go, the final minutes began well for Virginia.
A bad turnover led to a fast-break two-on-one for the Hokies. Zoll was able to put just enough pressure on Cook and Copeland to make both of them miss point-blank shots underneath the basket.
Then freshman guard Monica Wright was able to draw a loose ball foul, which took her to the line with 58 seconds showing on the clock.
Just as importantly, it sent Virginia Tech's leading scorer Nare Diawara back to the bench, fouling out with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Wright was able to make both free throws, but Tech responded with a close-range shot by Cook to tie it at 58.
Virginia coach Debbie Ryan called a timeout with 24 seconds and drew up a play that worked to perfection, but Zoll could not bank in the shot from close range.
Before the timeout "we didn't look like we were focused on what I wanted them to do," Ryan said. "We called a play and Sharneé got real deep. She said she had a good look and on-balance it just didn't go in. You couldn't ask for a better shot, really."
The problem in those final 7.5 seconds of the game was the same one that plagued Virginia all night long: their inability to keep Virginia Tech off the glass.
"It's hard to stop somebody when you give them two or three chances each possession," Zoll said.
Even though the stat sheet will say the Hokies won the rebounding margin by two, many of Virginia's rebounds were deflected by Hokie players. Also, many of those rebounds for Virginia Tech were simply a matter of failing to box out, as was the case in the final seconds of the game.
Rebounding "was our Achilles heel all night long," Ryan said. "We missed a weak side box out. I really can't tell you what happened -- I need to see it on tape. ... I just know she was standing there all alone."
Virginia received a strong performance from Wright, who finished with her second career double-double, leading the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Wright could have easily gone for more but missed two lay-ups early in the contest and got in foul trouble early in the second half.
Littles had 14 points herself, but Ryan said she needed to excel in other aspects of her game.
"When Littles has four rebounds in 33 minutes and Monica Wright is leading the team in rebounds, that's not good for us," Ryan said.
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