The Virginia women’s basketball team wrapped up its regular season Sunday afternoon in Tallahassee, Fla. with an 82-70 loss at Florida State. There, the Cavaliers were unable to find an answer for Seminole senior forward Natasha Howard, who tormented Virginia inside to the tune of 33 points and 11 rebounds in her final game at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
While the Cavaliers (13-16, 6-10 ACC) defeated the then-No. 17 Seminoles by 17 points in Charlottesville Jan. 19, they ran out of steam in the second half of the rematch.
Virginia led by two at the break and scored the opening basket of the second half — a jump-shot by freshman guard Breyana Mason — for a 40-36 advantage with 19:39 to play.
Florida State, however, quickly clamped down on the Cavaliers, holding Virginia scoreless until senior guard Ataira Franklin’s free throws tied the score at 42 with 15:23 left. The Seminoles gradually extended their lead through the next six minutes before breaking the game open with a 16-4 run, capped by two Howard free throws with 4:46 remaining.
Down 74-54, Virginia scored seven in a row, the last bucket coming on junior forward Sarah Imovbioh’s lay-up with 3:43 to play. Freshman forward Ivey Slaughter, though, answered with a free throw, and Howard scored inside after stealing the ball from Virginia senior guard Kelsey Wolfe, stalling the Cavaliers’ late-game run.
Imovbioh had 13 points and nine rebounds for Virginia, and senior guard Lexie Gerson scored 15 points on 7 of 12 shooting, also recording three steals. Senior guard Cheetah Delgado handed out 11 assists for Florida State.
Sunday’s loss committed Virginia to the No. 10 seed in this week’s ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers’ first round game against Boston College is scheduled for Wednesday at 3:30 in Greensboro, N.C.
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