Lady Vols upend Cavaliers

The promotion did its part.
The largest crowd to ever watch a women’s basketball game at Virginia spilled into John Paul Jones Arena with a hot dog and drink to boot.
Unfortunately, Tennessee’s new-look zone defense and overwhelming size did its part, too.
The latter meant more in the end.
Virginia, ranked 12th in the country, battled the sixth-ranked Lady Vols in neck-and-neck fashion into the early minutes of the second half before succumbing to an eventual 77-63 loss as 11,895 looked on.
The Cavaliers’ loss spoiled the chance for a home-and-home sweep — last year, Virginia (3-1) stunned a youthful Tennessee squad, 83-82, on the road.
“I would definitely say they were much more physical than they were last year,” said Virginia senior guard Monica Wright. “That one year of experience does a lot for a first-year class of All-Americans, so they did look better.
“They were a lot more in sync and physical. They just had more experience.”
That experience was visable after Virginia used a 6-0 run, capped by the lone field goal of the game by Chelsea Shine, during the first minute of the second half, cutting Tennessee’s lead to 42-39.
As they seemed to do all day, the Lady Vols answered with a flurry.
It started as Wright fouled Angie Bjorklund as she drilled a 3-pointer. It turned into a four-point play.
After a Virginia miss, Taber Spani connected on a 3-pointer for Tennessee.
Suddenly a margin that seemed manageable had disappeared.
“At those points we definitely need to take advantage of that momentum and make a run,” said Wright, who scored 21 to lead the Cavaliers. “We need to understand that that is when we need to buckle down and make stops — at those points.”
With 12:24 left in the game, Tennessee’s Glory Johnson nailed a jumper to extend the Lady Vols’ lead to double figures at 58-48.
It remained that way the remainder of the game, despite 17 second-half bench points from the Cavaliers.
Despite the loss, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan addressed the crowd that remained following the final horn, promising that her team, which numerous freshmen and sophomores, would look different in a matter of weeks.
“The environment was absolutely fantastic,” Ryan said. “I can’t say enough about it. Our town stepped up for us, Charlottesville, as well as the surrounding area. They were cheering the entire game.
“It just goes to show we can attract a good crowd and our team is ready to step up and perform at a really high level every night. This is a really great group of kids.”
That group, however, is still a work in progress, something that was apparent in the first half.
With 14:25 left in the opening session, Tennessee had raced out to a seven-point lead with a 13-6 advantage.
It was during that stage that coach Pat Summitt’s team employed a zone defense, something she admitted she had never opened a game with, outside of an earlier game this year with Baylor.
That helped hold Wright, a pre-season All-American, to 14 points fewer than she managed last year at Tennessee.
“We went primarily with our match up in the first half [on Wright],” Summitt said, “and the second half, we went to our switching man and I thought that kept us in front of them in most possessions, but they are so quick and do a great job of getting by.”
For the game, Virginia struggled from the outside, shooting 33.8 percent (24 for 71) from the field and missed 16 of 23 3-pointers.
Wright had little help outside of rookie center Simone Egwu, who scored 10 points, and a 12-point effort from sophomore Ariana Moorer.
The Lady Vols (3-0) were much deeper with three players having scored 14 points or more. Bjorklund, who missed the game with UVa last year, paced the attack with 24 points and nailed half of her 10 3-point attempts.
“She tore it up tonight,” Wright said. “She was just so hot. It was hard to stop her.”
Virginia returns to action Thursday against Indiana in the Junkanoo Jam at 2:15 p.m. on the Grand Bahamas Island.