A five-game late-season losing streak sent the Virginia women’s basketball team reeling into its final regular season game against No. 24 Florida State. But on senior day at John Paul Jones Arena, the Cavaliers regrouped to put together one of their most complete performances of the year, upsetting the Seminoles 72-60.
“I’m just really excited — excited about the win, excited about ending on a good note, excited for the seniors,” Virginia coach Joanne Boyle said. “Just excited that we put together a game that I know we were capable of, and we beat a really good team.”
The Cavaliers (16-13, 8-10 ACC) came out of the gate strong, building an early 11-4 lead on scoring from junior guard Ataira Franklin, freshman guard Faith Randolph and senior center Simone Egwu. Virginia managed to hold its ground for the entire first half — the Seminoles came within one point twice, but were never able to tie the game.
Florida State (21-8, 11-7 ACC) shot 50 percent from the floor in the half, but Virginia limited them to just 22 shot attempts to maintain its lead. Franklin finished the period with 10 points to lead the Cavaliers into halftime up 30-25. It was a welcome performance for a team that has struggled lately to find consistent scoring and defense.
“It was the team of old,” Boyle said. “We got traps in the corner. [Florida State redshirt senior guard Alexa] Deluzio got loose on us in the zone, but you’re never going to keep a great player down. The 50-50 balls, the free throws down the stretch and the patience on offense — we finished layups down the stretch — those kind of things were game changers for us.”
After the break, the Seminoles came back and tied the game at 36-36 within the first four minutes of the half. Both teams went back and forth in the early portion of that half, with 12 lead changes in the period on the whole.
Tied at 55-55 with 5:15 to play, Randolph hit a 3-pointer to retake the lead and swung the momentum in the Cavaliers’ favor. Randolph — who came to Virginia as a highly-touted prospect but had thus far failed to show consistent stretches of play — delivered an impressive showing Sunday, pouring in 19 points to lead the Cavaliers.
“It’s senior night, and we wanted to lay everything out on the floor, especially from the underclassman because we’ve learned so much from the seniors and that’s all we could do to repay them,” Randolph said. “I was able to hit some shots, and [senior guard China Crosby] believed in me, I believed in her, and we were able to win the game.”
After Randolph’s go-ahead 3-pointer, the Cavaliers were able to pull away, capping the game with a 17-5 run to seal the upset win. Playing in her final regular-season game at JPJ, Egwu put together a huge final performance for the Cavaliers, scoring a season-high 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to help put away the Seminoles.
With the win, Virginia will enter the ACC tournament as the No. 6 seed and will play its opening game Thursday in Greensboro, NC. After an impressive home victory, the Cavaliers feel that their momentum may help them prolong their success into the postseason.
“It’s March Madness, anything can happen,” Boyle said. “We’re going to prep, and I know this team will show up in that tournament. We have a chance to do some damage in that tournament, and I’m sure they’re going to work for it.”
For tonight, though, the Cavaliers are not looking ahead to the tournament just yet. After their disappointing run, they are taking today just to enjoy the win.
“You give them a day off tomorrow,” Boyle said. “I told them in the locker room, ‘Don’t anybody say anything. Just sit here for a second. Just smell this. This is what it’s supposed to feel like in March.’”
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