Virginia saw its five-game winning streak snapped in the final five seconds of Monday night's matchup between the No. 18 Cavaliers and No. 10 Florida State Seminoles, 59-58. Virginia erupted in a 22-6 run to start the game, but Florida State's persistence took the game to the final seconds.
FSU used a 22-2 run over the span of 6 minutes, during which time the 'Noles were making it rain threes. They returned to the locker room remarkably up 28-26 with all the momentum on their side.
Virginia rallied from a 57-50 deficit to go ahead by a point on Monica Wright's layup off a steal by Chelsea Shine with 25 seconds left, but a foul with five seconds remaining gave Florida State the two free throws they needed to regain the lead. Ariana Moorer's open 6 footer in the lane just before the final buzzer bounced off the front.
The Seminoles (24-4, 10-2 ACC) have now won six in a row and 10 in 11 game.
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Virginia (20-7, 8-4). Monica Wright led Virginia with 23 points. Virginia was 1 for 6 from the field and had six turnovers during the Seminoles' surge.
"We have come a long way with a very young team," head coach Debbie Ryan said. "I was very proud of their performance tonight and I will continue to be proud of them. There is going to be great things for this team down the stretch. We play so well in close games. A lot of people probably thought the game was over when we were down by five. It was not. It never is with this team."
The 'Hoos face Duke in Durham this Friday. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m.