A few missed free throws in the last minute of regulation almost cost the Cavaliers, but they came up with a couple of crucial steals and an offensive rebound to seal the win. The nerve-wracking sequence in the final seconds of the game was a fitting ending to an exciting game that featured great goalscoring from both teams and a head-to-head quarter.
In the end, Virginia escaped with a 73-70 win over Minnesota in Game 1 of the 36th Cavalier Classic Saturday afternoon at the John Paul Jones Arena to go undefeated this season.
Virginia struggled off the field in the first quarter, shooting 6/21 (28.6%). This allowed Minnesota to put together a 13-3 run to take a 15-6 lead with four minutes remaining in the quarter. A clean first quarter with just one turnover helped the Cavaliers overcome their shooting troubles and scored ten of the team’s 13 color points in the first quarter. Minnesota led 21-13 after the first ten minutes.
The Cavaliers quickly left the sluggish first quarter to start the second, putting together an amazing 18-0 run to completely turn the game around. There were five layups on the run and Virginia’s gruff defense forced nine turnovers from Golden Gopher in the second quarter, scoring 14 points from them. Virginia’s ability to make runs like this means the Hoos will never get out of a game.
Minnesota bounced back from the offensive drought late in the second quarter and cut the UVA lead to four points. The Cavaliers led 35-31 and went into halftime behind Camryn Taylor’s eight points and Mir McLean’s six points and seven rebounds.
Midway through the third quarter, the Cavaliers were 1/17 (5.9%) from across the arc. After leading the ACC and finishing 18th in the country with 17.2 offensive rebounds per game over the weekend, the Cavaliers had just nine offensive rebounds at the time. The game’s defining stat at the time was Virginia’s 18 points scored from 18 Minnesota turnovers compared to ten UVA turnovers and just four Minnesota points as a result.
Camryn Taylor continued her winning streak as the first pick for the Cavaliers on offense. She had two layups to take the UVA lead to 47-39, with Mir McLean picking up an attack between the two possessions. Taylor scored ten points in the third quarter at 5/7 from field to carry the Cavaliers while the rest of the team was 3/13 from field. Minnesota hit two threes late in the third quarter to sneak back, giving the Cavaliers a 51-45 lead going into the final frame.
After the three-point drought that spanned three quarters, Sam Brunelle drilled back-to-back threes to give her team a 59-49 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mara Braun scored six straight points to put Minnesota in a 59-55 deficit. Two of the points came from free throws from a technical foul when the game got ragged. Taylor Valladay responded with a left-handed layup, but Minnesota continued the comeback on a 10-2 run, only 61-59 behind.
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After a Camryn Taylor miss, Mir McLean sliced through a sea of maroon jerseys for an offensive rebound and then completed a three-pointer play. Next, Taylor Valladay found Camryn Taylor ready for a layup to extend the lead to 66-59.
Freshman Mara Braun continued to come into play for Minnesota, finishing a three-point game of her own. Then Alexia Smith, a Minnesota transfer, sank a pullup jumper and Sam Brunelle buried her third three-pointer of the game. Braun didn’t budge, however, hitting a difficult layup and then burying a three. Braun finished with a game-high 24 points for Minnesota, including an incredible 16 points in the fourth quarter alone. With 90 seconds remaining, UVA led 71-67.
After an offensive rebound, Katie Borowicz hit a clutch three-pointer for Minnesota to reduce the deficit to one, and then after a UVA layup missed, the Golden Gophers had a chance to win the game with 19 seconds remaining .
However, Camryn Taylor had other ideas. After consistently contributing on offense, she made it big on the defensive end with a steal. While missing both free throws, Kaydan Lawson was able to fight for the offensive rebound and knock the ball away from a Minnesota player. Taylor Valladay then went 1/2 at the line, giving Virginia a two-point lead with four seconds left. As Minnesota rushed to dribble down the court, Kaydan Lawson picked up a steal and then went 1/2 at the line and time ticked right after, giving the Cavaliers the dramatic 73-70 win.
Camryn Taylor scored 22 points to lead Virginia and Sam Brunelle had 17 points and was 3/6 of three. Mir McLean recorded a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
After struggling with rebound margin early in the game, the Cavaliers used clutch rebounds to score second chance points. Now the Cavaliers are 7-0 in their first year under Coach Mox for the first time since the 1992-1993 season.
Virginia meets its second Cavalier Classic opponent tomorrow afternoon when the Cavaliers take on East Carolina at 2 p.m. at the JPJ.
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