Women Handle Hokies at Home 52-39

While most of the Virginia fan base was focused on tonight's men's game against Duke at Cameron Indoor (which is at the under-16 as I write this), the women's basketball team had a rivalry game with in-state foe Virginia Tech at JPJ. I noted in my recap of the tough loss to the Tar Heels that Virginia needed to win its next two games: at Clemson and home against Virginia Tech. Well, they did just that.

The Cavaliers took down Clemson 54-47 on Sunday. Today, they took down the Hokies 52-39, earning the program's 800th win.

It was not exactly a pretty game tonight. But once again, the Virginia defense came up big, forcing nearly 20 turnovers including numerous shot clock violations that really seemed to frustrate the Hokies' first year coach.

Lexie Gerson led all Virginia scorers with 13 points, but one sequence in particular stands out. With Virginia struggling to put distance between itself and the Hokies, Lexie missed what should have been a relatively easy layup. you could see the frustration in her eyes. Chelsea Shine got the rebound and passed it back out to Lexie on the perimeter. She missed the three point attempt, but got her own rebound and the lay in.

For the next few minutes, it was all Lexie. Free throws, three pointers, jumpers, paint points. She was energized. She got her team energized. She got the crowd energized. And the Cavaliers never looked back. Down 20-17 at the half, the Cavaliers outscored the Hokies 35-19 in the second half.

Now Virginia must get back to business against tough, ranked opponents. Firs they travel to #5 Maryland on Monday. They follow that up by hosting #13 Miami next Thursday. After taking care of business against the teams they are supposed to beat, we just have to hope the ladies can pull off another Tennessee-like upset.