Virginia was up by as many as 8 points against the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Vols, thanks to a quick start by a fast Cavaliers squad. Late in the first half, Tennessee mounted a rally from which Virginia was simply unable to recover. Virginia falls to 2-1 after an 85-73 contest.
Virginia used a 13-2 run early in the first half to open up their biggest lead of the night at 17-9 before the first media timeout. During this run, Virginia put together a tremendous barrage of solid defense and team-oriented basketball, with 3 steals and 5 assists over the three-minute period.
With under three minutes to go in the first half, however, the Lady Vols took the lead and never turned back. Tennessee opened the second half with an 8-0 run, and Virginia was unable to score until Ataira Franklin reached the charity stripe with 14:39 remaining in the game. Tennessee led by as many as 18 points during the game.
Leading the team in scoring was junior guard Ariana Moorer with 24 points. She also put up 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Sophomore forward Telia McCall came off the bench to lead the team in rebounds at 8, with redshirt senior guard Paulisha Kellum right behind with 7.
Virginia shot 45.5% from the field and 50% from the three-point line.
The Cavaliers return to Charlottesville to play host to Longwood this Sunday at 2:00 p.m.