Cavs hold off Hokies with late surge

BLACKSBURG — Debbie Ryan coached the entire night unaware of the events that unfolded outside of Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum.
Yet moments after No. 16 Virginia held on to outlast Virginia Tech 75-69, the legendary coach was informed that a text alert had been sent to the student body informing them of a murder that had occurred on campus.
Given that discovery, Ryan was somber as she discussed how the Cavaliers (15-3, 2-1 ACC) mounted a late rally behind the scoring prowess of Lyndra Littles and Monica Wright, who combined for their team’s final 12 points.
“The significance and the importance of what we did tonight,” Ryan said, “is not nearly as important as what’s happened on campus here.”
What Virginia did, however, was impressive, as it closed out the contest with its in-state rival on a 19-6 run that sealed its fourth straight win in the series.
The Cavaliers, who avenged a loss at North Carolina on Jan. 16, trailed 63-56 after Virginia Tech guard Lindsay Biggs connected on a 3-pointer with 6:42 remaining.
Littles, who went to the floor in obvious pain with 8:23 remaining after she stepped on the foot of another player, answered Biggs’ long-range jumper with her own 3-pointer, starting the Cavaliers’ run.
The Cavaliers did not regain the lead, however, until Littles hit a leaner with 3:39 remaining.
Biggs, who scored a team-high 17 points, gave the Hokies (8-10,
0-5) the lead again as she connected on her fifth 3-pointer of the contest just 16 seconds later.
After the teams exchanged layups, Littles connected on a pair of free throws, tying the contest at 69-69 with 2:25 left.
Wright, who scored 23 points, pushed Virginia in front for good with a layup with 1:06 left after she sliced through traffic in the lane.
While Virginia Tech had shots rattle out on its final possessions, Littles took over, making four more free throws in the final 29.9 seconds, the first two of which came after Ryan called an alley-oop play on an inbounds attempt with 31.5 seconds left.
“That was all by design and I trust that Lyndra, had she not had a shot, she wouldn’t have taken it,” Ryan said.
For the game, Littles scored a game-high 28 points, 15 of which came in the second half. More importantly, she hit all eight attempts from the free-throw line, something she attributed to Ryan’s teaching.
“That goes to her. It was just practice. There were no nerves,” Littles said. “This whole week we were focusing on free throws because obviously in the last game at UNC we went 1 for 8 in the first half.”
Ryan added: “Lyndra was just incredible tonight with the free throws and the shots that she got in the paint, which were really good screens set for her.”
It appeared early on that the contest would finish with a lopsided win for the Cavaliers.
But after trailing by nine at halftime at 38-29, Virginia Tech stormed out of the locker room with an
11-2 run that was fueled by Biggs.
The Cavaliers’ biggest lead, a 12-point advantage, came with 3:29 left in the opening half and with star center Aisha Mohammed on the bench with two fouls.
Mohammed, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in just 22 minutes, watched the final 15:46 of the first half from the bench.
Littles and Wright, and a host of reserve players, came to the rescue.
“I felt the difference in the game was Lyndra Littles in the end and Monica Wright keeping us organized,” Ryan said.
Long before the late-game heroics, UVa pulled away early, taking a 14-7 lead as Littles sizzled from the field, hitting her first three shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Hokies bounced back, however, and tied it at 18 on a 3-pointer from Biggs.
For the game, Virginia out-rebounded Virginia Tech 39-29 and scored 29 points off 20 turnovers.
The Cavaliers return home Friday to face No. 22 Florida State (16-4, 4-0). The Seminoles have won seven straight games.