University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
5-9
Virginia
12-2
Women's Hoops Win Streak Snapped At Virginia, 53-38
December 29, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Despite remaining within striking distance for most of the contest, the UMass women's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end with a 53-38 loss at the hands of host Virginia in the championship game of the Marriott Cavalier Classic on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Following the setback, the Minutewomen fall to 5-9 on the season while the Cavaliers improve to 12-2 thanks to their seventh straight victory.
Senior Emilie Teuscher notched all of her team-high 11 points in the first half behind the strength of 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Junior Jasmine Watson finished with eight points and a team-leading 12 boards, including four on the offensive glass. Redshirt freshman Millie Niggeling chipped in a career-high seven points off the bench.
For the second straight night, the Minutewomen came out firing from long range, knocking down six of their first nine attempts from three-point distance. In a back-and-forth first half that featured six lead changes, a Teuscher three at the 7:58 mark gave the Minutewomen their largest lead of the game at 22-18. However, the Minutewomen were held scoreless over the next 7:53 and Virginia scored 10 of the final 12 points in the first half to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room.
A Watson layup 14 seconds into the second half cut the UMass deficit to two and the Minutewomen kept the game within seven points throughout the first 12 minutes of the period, trailing 41-38 with 8:08 remaining in the contest. From there though, Virginia kept UMass off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game as the Cavaliers tallied the night's final 12 points.
After the intermission, the Cavaliers clamped down on the Minutewomen from outside as UMass was limited to 0-for-8 from three-point range in the second half.
After shooting 9-for-19 (47.4%) from the field in the first half, the Minutewomen were held to 5-of-20 (25%) in the second half to finish the contest 14-for-39 (35.9%). The Cavaliers converted 17-of-52 (32.7%) of their shots. UMass finished 6-of-19 (33.3%) from three while Virginia knocked down 3-of-16 (18.8%) three-pointers. The Minutemen went 4-for-10 (40%) from the charity stripe as Virginia finished 16-for-20 (80%).
For the Cavaliers, Chelsea Shine finished with a double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds and collecting the bulk of her 11 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the foul line. Junior Lexie Gerson led three Cavaliers in double figures with 12 points starting in place of the injured China Crosby for the second straight night. Ariana Moorer recorded seven of Virginia's 17 steals while adding 11 points.
Watson and Megan Zullo represented UMass on the All-Tournament team, joining Moorer and Ataira Franklin of Virginia and Wagner's Brittney Thorpe. Moorer was named Most Valuable Player.
The Minutewomen return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 3 when they welcome Harvard to Amherst for a 7 p.m. tip off at the Mullins Center.
