Women’s Basketball: Virginia loses big at No. 16 Georgia Tech

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia women’s basketball team (3-9, 0-2 ACC) suffered a 67-31 loss at No. 16 Georgia Tech (11-3, 1-1 ACC) on Sunday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga.

The Cavaliers trailed by just seven at halftime, but Georgia Tech went on a 32-2 run in the third and fourth quarters to take over the game.

Grad student guard Amandine Toi and junior guard Carole Miller each scored eight points. Junior forward Meg Jefferson and junior guard McKenna Dale each grabbed five rebounds.

Nerea Hermosa led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points.

Georgia Tech scored on four of its first five possessions to take an early 8-2 lead, but the Cavaliers battled back, pulling to within two, 10-8, on a jumper from junior forward London Clarkson. A three-pointer from Toi tied the game at 13 with 1:31 remaining in the period, but Tech made a free throw in the waning seconds of the period to take a 14-13 lead into the second quarter.

Dale hit a three-pointer with 7:42 left in the second quarter to give UVA an 18-16 lead. It would be the last field goal the team would make in the first half, missing their final seven field attempts. Georgia Tech used a pair of three-pointers to build up a 24-18 advantage. A free throw from Miller with 39.2 seconds remaining in the half ended the Yellow Jackets’ 10-0 scoring run and sent the game into the break with a 26-19 score.

Georgia Tech hit a three-pointer to start the third quarter, extending its lead to double figures for the first time. After a three-pointer from Miller at the 7:13 mark, the Cavaliers missed their final eight shots of the quarter as Georgia Tech found its stroke, finishing the period on an 18-0 run. They continued extending the lead in the fourth quarter hitting another pair of field goals before Miller ended UVA’s scoreless streak with a pair of free throws at the 8:14 mark. Toi hit a three-pointer with 3:45 remaining in the game to end an 0-of-11 shooting stretch that spanned 13:28 across the third and fourth quarters.

Postgame: UVA coach Tina Thompson

“An extremely tough one for us. We came out in the first half and we executed, we defended we basically followed our game plan and then something happened in the second half. We just could not get back on track and we were just very discombobulated. It’s not like they were doing anything different. But we decided to make no unjustified adjustments and just got into a place where we just kind of couldn’t get back to where we were and then we were basically defeated. Now we’re going to go back to the drawing board and do what we do and continue  to work at it but we just can’t go into games like that without executing consistently and expect to have good results.”

“What we experienced with COVID and protocols and health and safety is what everybody in the country is experiencing. It’s not like we’re experiencing something that everyone else isn’t. The reality is that we’re going to have to adjust when we have to, and there is no excuse for effort. We can’t guarantee that we’re going to make every single shot. We can guarantee that we’re going to take the best shots that are available and executing our offense. We’re not going to stop every single player from scoring or doing what they do well, but the intention has to be that’s what we’re going to attempt to do consistently. And those are all things that we can control. No one here is new. And we’ve all been in the same gym every single day working on the same things. So we need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and we have to stop making excuses. We have to just show up and we have to play at a high level consistently.”

UVA Notes

• This was the Cavaliers’ first game since Dec. 19, a three-week break due to cancelations and postponements
• UVA starters Taylor Valladay, Camryn Taylor and Eleah Parker were not in uniform for the game
• This was the first career start for sophomore guard Kaydan Lawson
• This was the first start of the year for junior forward Meg Jefferson. She started three of Virginia’s five games in 2020-21
• Georgia Tech only dressed seven players for the game
• Virginia shot 22.9 percent (11-of-48) while Georgia Tech shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59)
• The Yellow Jackets held a 43-29 edge in rebounding
• Georgia Tech outscored the Cavaliers 41-12 in the second half

Virginia returns to John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday, Jan. 13 to host No. 5 NC State. The game streams on ACCNX and tips at 7 p.m.