Dec. 21, 2007

Balanced Effort Puts UVa Past Davidson, 83-68

Five Cavaliers scored in double figures as a balanced attack gave the Virginia women's basketball team an 83-68 win over Davidson Thursday at John Paul Jones Arena. UVa returned from a 15-day break for final exams to improve its record to 7-4 on the season with the win, while the Wildcats fell to 6-4.

Reigning ACC Rookie of the Year and Naismith Trophy preseason watch list selection Monica Wright led the Cavaliers with 18 points, while Lyndra Littles added 17 points and four rebounds. Ever the playmaker and usually the assist-giver, fourth-year floor general Sharneé Zoll got the offensive side of her game going as well, connecting on a season-high four 3-pointers and finishing with 16 points. She also dished out a game-high eight assists.

Aisha Mohammed also contributed 16 points and hauled down a team-high seven rebounds. Rounding out the starting lineup was Paulisha Kellum, who netted 12 points and grabbed five boards.

No. 4 Maryland Slips By James Madison

James Madison players were tired of hearing about Kristi Toliver's homecoming, and they were determined to shut her down. They succeeded.

But they had no answer for Laura Harper, who scored 24 points Thursday night to lead No. 4 Maryland to a hard-fought 71-65 victory before a near-capacity crowd that turned out largely to see Toliver, the Terrapins' point guard and leading scorer who grew up in Harrisonburg.

Toliver's pre-game introduction was greeted with a loud cheer, which did not go unnoticed by Dukes players.

Toliver said she didn't feel any additional pressure before the home folks, but it wasn't one of her better performances. She sat on the bench most of the first half after picking up two early fouls and finished with eight points - well below her 17.5 average - on 3-of-10 shooting.

No. 3 North Carolina Wins Big, 93-60

Rashanda McCants had 19 points, rebounding from a bloody fall earlier in the week to lead No. 3 North Carolina to a 93-60 victory over Western Kentucky on Thursday night.

McCants caught an elbow in the forehead from teammate LaToya Pringle in Monday night's 82-58 win at nearby Coastal Carolina. McCants was face first on the court as trainers and doctors cleaned up the blood.

McCants needed stitches to close up the wound. North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said then the fall would only toughen McCants up -- and the Tar Heels' leading scorer played like it against the Lady Toppers (6-4).

McCants had five points during a 14-6 first-half run that put North Carolina (12-1) ahead 31-20. She later added a jumper and a 3-pointer as the Tar Heels went on a 10-2 run to start the second half and grab a 53-30 lead.

Seminole Women's Basketball Breaks Out Of Road Drought With 66-52 Win At UAB

Having hit a snag in its last two road games and without two of its top players, the prospects of going on the road may have seemed daunting to the Florida State women's basketball team, but the Seminoles were up to the challenge. Florida State played stingy defense and converted that into scoring opportunities as it beat UAB, 66-52, on Thursday (Dec. 20) at Bartow Arena.

The triumph improved the Seminoles to 8-3 on the year. UAB dropped to 4-8. FSU also snapped a streak of two-straight losses in the last game before Christmas.

Posting her first collegiate double-double was junior guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) as she scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Tying Freshour for the team-high with 15 points was senior Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.). Grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds was forward Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) to go along with seven points.

Hokies cruise past UTSA 84-59

The Virginia Tech women's basketball team started their first-ever meeting against the University of Texas at San Antonio with a 7-0 run and never looked back as the Hokies cruised to a 84-59 win to advance to the championship game of the Tulane DoubleTree Classic at Fogelman Arena on the University of Tulane's campus.

Tech (9-2) watched the early lead dwindle to 18-14 with 10:10 remaining in the first half, but UTSA (6-3) would get no closer the rest of the game as the Hokies finished the first half strong to go into the locker room with a 34-25 lead, thanks to 46.9% shooting from the field.

The Hokies would continue the strong shooting to begin the second half as they used a 11-4 run to take a 16-point lead, which would get as high as 30 with 1:23 remaining in the contest.

Andrea Barbour (Fr., Charlottesville, Va.) led all players with 25 points, while Amber Hall (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) posted a career-high 13 rebounds. Brittany Cook (r-Jr., Narrows, Va.) added 15 points, and Utahya Drye (So., Durham, N.C.) had 10 rebounds as the Hokies outrebounded the Roadrunners 56-29.