Defensive switch lifts Cavs past Hokies

For Debbie Ryan it is eerily similar to the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys.
With that in mind, the Virginia coach scribbled just one word on the dry erase board Sunday: dangerous.
It took longer than expected and required the rare employment of a zone defense, but the message reached its target audience.
After falling behind 15 points early, Virginia used its new-look defense to register a regular-season sweep over rival Virginia Tech, taking a well-timed 69-61 victory in front of a season-best 6,281 fans at John Paul Jones Arena.
“I knew this was a dangerous game,” Ryan said. “That’s what I started my pre-game speech with. This is a very dangerous game primarily because it is an in-state rivalry, you have already won once … and [the Hokies] are playing very well right now.
“I was very wary of the start.”
Ryan’s premonition was on point.
After making 10 of their first 12 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, Virginia Tech (11-13, 1-8 ACC) raced out to a 25-10 lead.
At that point, Virginia had made just 3 of 13 field goals and forced Ryan to burn an early timeout.
“They were on fire the first six minutes — geez,” said Virginia guard Monica Wright, who scored 22 points and had six steals.
“I don’t know what was going on. We just didn’t come out ready and Virginia Tech, they came at us with everything.”
Slowly and methodically, the Cavaliers (19-5, 5-3) cut into the deficit with a 15-0 run that stretched over five minutes.
“I don’t know when it clicked but it clicked and there were 12 straight stops in a row,” Wright said. “Then the game started.”
In actuality, it came just after Ryan inserted Kristen London into the game with 13:20 left in the opening half. And it was not a coincidence that it started after Ryan switched from a man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone.
“When it started the way that we kind of predicted that it would, we went to zone and that was really the answer for the game,” Ryan said. “We played very smart in it. We were able to rebound out of it and that was the key.”
Virginia Tech, which trailed 35-32 at halftime, opened the second half on a 7-2 run to tie the game, but the Cavaliers took the lead for good on a free throw by Kelly Hartig with 17:39 left.
The Cavaliers, who avoided their first two-game losing streak of the season, remained in their 2-3 zone all the while.
“I would say probably the most zone I have played in my life,” Ryan pointed out. “I am not much of a zone coach, but I thought we really did a nice job of spreading it out and forcing people to shoot shots that they don’t want to shoot.”
Virginia Tech, which has lost three of its past four games, kept the contest close during portions of the second half and cut the deficit to three, at 54-51, on a jumper by Laura Haskins with 6:35 left.
Virginia center Aisha Mohammed, who scored only two points in the first half, suddenly came alive and used her power in the paint to fuel a 12-4 run that secured the win.
During the scoring spree, Mohammed had five points and three rebounds.
“She was really wanting the ball,” Ryan said. “She was just, ‘Give me the ball. Give me the ball.’ She got every rebound.
“She was just a monster on the boards today.”
After shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half (12 of 24), the Cavaliers finished the contest at 47.3 percent (26 of 55).
Senior forward Lyndra Littles helped that effort, drilling 9 of her 13 shots from the field to finish with a game-high 23 points.
Virginia Tech was paced by a 14-point effort from Lindsay Biggs. The forward connected on four 3-pointers.
UVa returns to action Thursday at Maryland at 7 p.m.