Tigers hold off late Cavalier rally for 79-69 win

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia women’s basketball team suffered a 79-69 loss against Clemson on Thursday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The shorthanded Cavaliers (15-13, 4-13 ACC) trimmed a 14-point deficit down to four with 2:07 remaining in the game, but the Tigers went 9-of-9 from the free throw line in the final period to hold on for the victory.

Virginia had four players finish the game in double figures. Camryn Taylor scored 15 points with nine rebounds. Cady Pauley scored a career-high 12 points. McKenna Dale also had 12 points, while Taylor Valladay scored 11 points with four assists.

Clemson (15-14, 6-11) also had four players score in double figures, led by 18 points from Amari Robinson. Brie Perpignan, Daisha Bradford and Eno Inyang each had 14.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After Clemson scored the first five points of the game, Valladay went on a personal 7-0 run, hitting a 3-pointer and then stealing the ball right back and scoring a layup. Ruby Whitehorn broke a 9-9 tie by draining a 3 for the Tigers. Pauley ended a 4:18 scoreless streak for the Cavaliers by hitting a 3 with 30 seconds left in the quarter, making it a 16-12 deficit for the Cavaliers.

Pauley opened the second quarter by hitting her second 3 of the game, pulling UVA within one, 16-15, but the Tigers scored seven straight to build up a 22-15 lead. London Clarkson was issued a technical foul and ejected from the game with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter, cutting the Cavalier roster down to seven players. Clemson made one free throw on the technical but then added a 3 on their next possession to build up a 10-point lead.

A jumper from Yonta Vaughn narrowed the gap to 28-20 with five minutes left in the half. Kaydan Lawson hit a 3-pointer to make it a five-point game. Clemson built it back up to an eight-point lead with 1:15 remaining, but Dale closed out the half with a 3-pointer to make it 35-30 at the break.

Clemson scored the first five points of the third quarter to build back up a double-digit lead. Pauley hit her third 3 of the game to narrow the gap to 38-34 with 6:14 remaining, but Robinson converted an and-one to push the Tiger lead back to seven. Pauley hit her fourth 3 to again make it a five-point game, 46-41, with 3:24 remaining. Clemson closed out the period on a 10-2 run to lead 56-43 heading into the final period.

The Cavaliers continued to battle in the fourth quarter. A layup from Dale and back-to-back jumpers from Vaughn and Taylor cut the deficit back to single digits, 61-53. A fastbreak layup from Alexia Smith added another two points to the run. Clemson scored on the opposite end, but an and-one from Taylor again made it a five-point game, 63-58, with 5:29 remaining. Robinson scored a layup to push the Tigers’ lead back to seven. An and-one for the Tigers again made it a 10-point game 30 seconds after UVA had cut it to five.

A 3-pointer from Dale again cut the deficit to five points with 2:41 remaining. A free throw from Valladay narrowed the deficit to four, 73-69 with 2:07 remaining. Clemson went into the final minute of play with that same 73-69 advantage. Clemson hit a pair of free throws to go up 75-69. Virginia turned the ball over on its next possession. Perpignan made a pair of free throws for the Tigers to put them up 77-69 with 26.3 seconds remaining. Lawson fouled out of the game with 13.2 seconds remaining, leaving the Cavaliers with six players. Clemson made a pair of free throws to go back up by double digits.

GAME NOTES

• Virginia shot 37.5 percent (27 of 72); Clemson shot 48.2 percent (27 of 56)
• Clemson held a 41-36 edge in rebounding
• Clemson scored 19 second-chance points to Virginia’s seven
• Clemson made six free throws in the final 43 seconds of the game
• Virginia went 0 for 5 from the field in the final 2:30 of the game
• London Clarkson was ejected for fighting with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter
• Cady Pauley’s previous career high was 11 points against UNCW. This was her second time scoring in double figures this season
• The Cavaliers have lost their last 17 ACC road contests
• London Clarkson was ejected for fighting with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter

FROM HEAD COACH AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON

“I am very frustrated with how we competed today. We didn’t fight. We didn’t want it. We did things that are uncharacteristic. It was embarrassing, to say the least. And I think everybody felt that. I want to apologize to Wahoo Nation for the way we conducted ourselves tonight. We will definitely get better.”

ON THE HORIZON

Virginia closes out the regular season at Miami on Sunday with a noon game that will be broadcast on the ACC Network.