The No. 16 Virginia women’s basketball team upset reigning national champion No. 5 Tennessee last night 83-82 in Knoxville, Tenn. Virginia senior guard Britnee Millner hit a free throw with 6.4 seconds left in the game to finish off the Volunteers.
This is just the second time that Virginia (2-0) has beaten Tennessee (1-1) in the team’s 13 meetings, and it is the first-ever victory in Knoxville in five tries. The last time the Cavaliers knocked off the Volunteers was in 1990, when Virginia took a 79-75 win in the East Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament in Norfolk, Va.
Tennessee opened up a 13-point lead just before halftime, but Virginia clawed back to take a 50-49 lead with 15:27 remaining in the second half. The Volunteers regained control as they took a 1-point lead at the 11:46 mark and did not relinquish it until Millner’s game-winning free throw.
The Cavaliers were led by junior guard Monica Wright, who played 39 minutes and put up a career-high 35 points, while also contributing eight rebounds and five steals. Senior center Aisha Mohammed added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Freshman guard Whitny Edwards contributed the team’s third and final double-digit scoring performance with 13 points.
Virginia managed the victory without the services of senior forward Lyndra Littles, who was suspended for the fall semester Friday because of academic ineligibility.
The Volunteers had six players notching at least 10 points. A pair of freshmen — guard Briana Bass and forward Glory Johnson — put up 13 points each to lead Tennessee.
Last night’s game marked for Virginia the first of two games this week against ranked opponents; up next is a rematch against No. 25 Old Dominion, which beat the Cavaliers in the second round of the most recent NCAA Tournament . Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in Norfolk, Va.
—compiled by Dan Stalcup
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