Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics Communications
UVA Women's Basketball Falls to Wake Forest in ACC First Round
The 2022 Virginia women's basketball season came to an end on Wednesday night, as the Cavaliers put up a valiant effort, and led for over 27 minutes of the game, but fell to Wake Forest 61-53 in the first round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro.
In the first quarter, the two teams traded baskets the entire way, with Wake Forest holding a 12-11 advantage after the first ten minutes.
Mir McLean had four points, three rebounds, and two blocks in the first quarter to pace the Cavaliers, and Jewel Spear had six points for the Demon Deacons.
Virginia took care of the basketball with just one first quarter turnover, but the team shot 4/21 from the field. On the other hand, Wake Forest was 5/12 from the field but had seven turnovers.
The Cavaliers came out hot in the second quarter, with Amandine Toi and London Clarkson making layups. A 12-6 run through the first five minutes of the quarter propelled Virginia to a 23-18 lead. The Cavaliers would maintain that five-point advantage and take a 29-24 lead into the second half.
Virginia forced five more Demon Deacon turnovers in the second quarter and once again just had one turnover themselves, creating a huge difference in shot opportunities. Those shots started to fall as Toi and McKenna Dale knocked down the first triples of the contest and the Cavaliers were 7/19 from the field.
Jewel Spear took over in the third quarter for Wake Forest, scoring 12 of her team’s 18 points. The Cavaliers had six players with points including 12 points in the paint, but committed five turnovers after just having two in the first half. After three quarters, Virginia held a 45-42 lead.
Virginia increased its lead to 49-42 early in the fourth quarter, but then Wake Forest began its comeback. The Demon Deacons were 7/12 from the field in the fourth quarter and took care of the basketball with two turnovers, allowing them to take the lead.
Jewel Spear and Olivia Summiel drained threes in the final period to bring Wake Forest within one. Over the final five minutes of the game, the Demon Deacons outscored the Cavaliers 12-2 including a 7-0 run at the end.
Christina Morra completed a three-point play with two minutes left to give Wake Forest a 59-53 lead. Virginia missed two shots that could have cut the deficit and then Morra added two free throws to ice the game, giving Wake Forest a 61-53 victory.
Mir McLean and London Clarkson both had 11 points for the Cavaliers. McLean added nine rebounds, but was limited to 23 minutes because of foul trouble and fouled out in the final minutes. The Cavaliers scored 32 points in the paint and forced 20 Wake Forest turnovers, but that wasn’t enough.
The Demon Deacons were a perfect 13/13 from the line and also made six threes, despite fewer points in the paint and more turnovers. It was a heartbreaker because the Cavaliers executed their game plan successfully, but Wake Forest still came out on top.
The Cavaliers played much better basketball in the final month of the season and even notched two conference victories, but it was not enough to avoid an early exit in postseason play. Virginia finishes the season with a record of 5-22.
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