Despite eight turnovers and a 13-25 rebounding deficit, the Virginia women’s basketball team trailed No. 14 Florida State by only seven points at the half. A Seminole shooting mark of 31.6 percent had kept the Cavaliers in the ballgame.
Three Florida State forwards — senior Adut Bulgak, junior Ivey Slaughter and sophomore Shakayla Thomas — also lost early minutes to foul trouble. Bulgak, who leads the team in rebounding at 8.1 per game and is second to Thomas in scoring at 14.4, picked up a quick third foul after the break.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers (13-7, 3-3 ACC), 6-foot-5 junior center Kai James had one of the strongest performances of her career. The former third-ranked post player out of high school scored 10 points and snatched eight boards in the first half alone, a major boost.
James didn’t do any more damage, but Slaughter and Thomas did, tallying nine and 16 points, respectively, over the final 20 minutes. The Seminoles (14-4, 4-1 ACC) coasted to a 70-48 victory behind Thomas’ game-high 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting and Slaughter’s 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Junior guard Breyana Mason scored 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting to lead Virginia. Her role continues to expand, while star senior guard Faith Randolph remains sidelined with a broken thumb.
Sophomore point guard Mikayla Venson — who entered Thursday’s contest as the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, averaging 15.6 points per game — and freshman forward Moné Jones each contributed eight points.
In the end, Florida State’s aggressiveness on the glass and in the full court proved to be too much for the Cavaliers to handle. The Seminoles outrebounded Virginia 42-26 and forced 22 turnovers. Should they fly back before the storm hits, the Cavaliers will have two days to prepare for a more favorable league matchup against Pittsburgh (8-11, 0-6 ACC).
The Cavaliers host the Panthers at 1 p.m. Sunday, assuming the roadways resurface in time.
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