The No. 22 Virginia women's basketball team knocked off No. 3 Tennessee in overtime, 69-64, Nov. 20 for its second win in four years against the Lady Volunteers. The Cavaliers improved to 4-0 with the victory for the first time since 1997 and earned a sport in the national rankings for the first time since 2010.
Senior forward Chelsea Shine and senior guard Ariana Moorer, who combined for seven points during Virginia's 2008 upset at Tennessee, led the Cavaliers down the stretch. Shine scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds to earn ACC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career, while Moorer scored four straight points in overtime to spark an 11-0 run which sealed the win for the Cavaliers.
Virginia (5-2) had little time to reflect on the upset as it traveled to the Waikiki Beach Marriot Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu for a three-game tournament. The Cavaliers came up flat in Friday's opener, losing their first game of the season, 79-53, against No. 24 Texas. Led by a career-high 30 points from sophomore guard Chassidy Fussell, the Longhorns offense had little trouble exploiting Virginia's previously stifling zone defense.
The Cavaliers got back in the win column the next day, defeating host Hawaii, 60-43. Junior guard Lexie Gerson provided a spark for Virginia by hitting three three-pointers and scoring 13 points off the bench.
Sunday, Virginia dropped its second game of the year against California, 59-50, in Virginia coach Joanne Boyle's first game against her former team. Virginia shot just 31 percent from the field and was outrebounded by California, 47-28. The Cavaliers rallied from a 30-18 deficit to cut the lead to four with 58 seconds remaining, but the Golden Bears hit seven of 10 free throws down the stretch to close out the win. Virginia will face Indiana Thursday at John Paul Jones Arena at 7 p.m.
-compiled by Daniel Weltz
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