In ugly affair, Virginia upends women's basketball

On Jan. 21, the Terrapin women's basketball team escaped Charlottesville, Va., with an overtime win despite a weak and inconsistent effort.

Forward Diandra Tchatchouang proved the difference, tying the game late with a critical 3-pointer and dropping in a buzzer-beating layup to give the Terps the come-from-behind victory.

But when Virginia came to Comcast Center yesterday, no hero was to be found for the Terps. A sloppy effort from start to finish left the Terps down by three points with 11 seconds on the clock and the ball in guard Anjale Barrett's hands.

The junior couldn't find guards Kim Rodgers or Laurin Mincy for a last-second 3-point attempt and was forced to heave a desperation shot from beyond the arc with one second left. It clanged off the backboard, and the No. 12 Terps fell to the Cavaliers for their second straight loss, 60-57.

"We had our 3-point shooters in the game," coach Brenda Frese said. "We had a play to be able to get Kim a shot or Laurin on a flare, but our timing was bad on the screen. ... [We] didn't get the look that we wanted. But I didn't think it really should have come down to that."

The Terps (20-5, 6-4 ACC) again struggled out of the gates yesterday. The team notched just one field goal in the game's first 9:35 and never seemed able to find a rhythm offensively.

For the third straight outing, the Terps trailed at halftime. Yesterday, it was due in large part to the Cavaliers' defensive efforts.

"I thought they really took it to us on the defensive end," Frese said. "They were physical. We stopped cutting hard, we would stop being aggressive. I thought they were the tougher team."

That seemed the Cavaliers' decisive edge yesterday. In a game during which neither team could get much of anything going offensively — only three players shot 50 percent or better from the field as the teams combined to shoot 35.8 percent overall — the game ultimately boiled down to desire and desperation.

And when the Terps at times appeared to be separating themselves, the Cavaliers simply wouldn't go away.

"Virginia came in here with a lot of intensity," Frese said, "playing with something to prove."

After trading baskets for much of the final five minutes of the game, though, the Cavaliers (15-12, 4-7) finally got what they had come for: a signature win.

Bowie native Ataira Franklin's pull-up jumper from the free-throw line with less than a minute to play extended the Cavaliers' lead to three. Provided a chance to right themselves after a tough loss at No. 20 Miami last Thursday, the Terps faltered. Center Lynetta Kizer (12 points, nine rebounds) traveled on the following possession, and after a great defensive stand, the Terps were unable to get a 3-pointer on their second-to-last possession, instead settling for a layup by Anjale Barrett.

Two free throws by Virginia's Whitny Edwards put the Cavaliers up three once more, setting up the Terps' ineffective final sequence.

The Terps had their chances before the buzzer sounded, though, to put the middling Cavaliers away for good. Virginia was coming off a quadruple-overtime win Thursday at N.C. State and appeared fatigued at times. Still, the Cavaliers were able to lock down the Terps defensively — only Kizer and Alyssa Thomas scored in double figures — and earn their best win to date.

The Terps, meanwhile, will head back to the drawing board as they prepare for the class of the ACC on Thursday, when they host No. 5 Duke.

"It definitely hurts," a visibly frustrated Kizer said after the game. "Come back on Tuesday and just get after it. We've got to be more mentally tough. We've got to understand that we've only got four more ACC games left."

cwalsh@umdbk.com