Virginia’s Shining moment

Chelsea Shine received a perfect birthday present from her teammates: the basketball.

Celebrating her 20th birthday, Shine torched USC Upstate for a career-best 27 points as Virginia rolled to an easy 110-63 victory inside John Paul Jones Arena.

“I knew that I was on, I guess,” Shine said with a smile. “Maybe because it was my birthday, but tonight I just played.”

Virginia, which climbed to No. 12 in the country on Monday, improved to 3-0 for the first time in three years. USC Upstate, formerly known at South Carolina Spartanburg, dropped to 2-1 overall.

Coming in the 1,000th career game for coach Debbie Ryan, the high-scoring contest was quite historic. It marked the highest-scoring game for the Cavaliers since a 116-point outing against St. Francis on Nov. 27, 2000.

It also came on the heels of one of the most anticipated contests in the short history of the JPJ — the Cavaliers host No. 6 Tennessee on Sunday at 4 p.m.

“I was hoping that we would come into this game and really focus on the task at hand and not think about the future,” Ryan said. “Obviously, I didn’t want us to dwell in the past, but stay right there with USC Upstate.

“It’s hard to do when you have Tennessee coming into your own gym [in the next game], but I thought the team did a great job with it.”

Up 54-38 at halftime, Ryan demanded “toughness” from her players in the opening moments of the second half.

It certainly came as the playing rotation was shortened. In fact, Shine scored the first six points of the second half for Virginia, sparking a 30-16 run that gave the Cavaliers a 30-point advantage with 10 minutes left.

“That’s really what put the game away in the second half,” Ryan said. “I wasn’t going to play everybody in the second half until it was pretty much a forgone conclusion to who was going to win.”

For the game, Virginia dominated in the paint. The Cavaliers outscored the Spartans 58-18 in the paint and had a decisive 29-rebound advantage.

“There was definitely a height difference that you could see with this team,” said Shine, who added 11 rebounds. “They were practically half of our size, but we still had to work. I was still getting tired out there because you have to get a stop at one end, come back and score.

“It was really good for us because we were able to get out and run. I think that’s when we are at our best, when we are running and getting transition. I love to run and love to get out there with the guards. I think that’s where it was easy for me.”

Simone Egwu and Monica Wright chipped in with 19 points each in the win. Wright also added six steals and five of the Cavaliers’ 27 assists.

As for Shine’s birthday plans?

“I got some homework to finish and it’s late,” she said, “but I might eat dinner with some friends.”

The victory, however, did not come without one scary moment.

After what Ryan described as a “throw,” Virginia rookie point guard China Crosby went to the floor in obvious pain just two minutes into the second half.

She limped out of the arena in obvious pain with what Ryan said was a broken tailbone.

It would appear doubtful that the rookie will be able to play on Sunday against the Lady Vols.

Layups

Due to Sunday’s NCAA tournament game in men’s soccer, Virginia officials pushed the start time for the Cavaliers’ showdown with Tennessee back two hours to 4 p.m. … USC Upstate, which competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference, opened the season with wins over North Greenville and Longwood. … Freshman forward Christine Nyobe, a Miller School graduate, had four points and three rebounds in 17 minutes for USC Upstate.