Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
Fourth-Quarter Collapse Dooms Virginia Again in 77-68 Loss to Florida State
For the second time in the last three games, the Cavaliers had an opponent on the ropes, leading by double digits in the fourth quarter. And for the second time in the last three games, UVA surrendered a massive run in the fourth quarter and watched that lead gradually disappear.
The UVA women's basketball team led Florida State by as many as 13 points, but an 18-0 FSU run, aided in part by some favorable officiating, led to Virginia (14-5, 3-5 ACC) suffering a frustrating 77-68 loss to Florida State (17-4, 6-2 ACC) on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Seminoles got on the board just eight seconds into the game on a jumper by Makayla Timpson, but the Cavaliers responded by scoring the next six points. Four of those paints came off of layups by Camryn Taylor, who has taken over as Virginia's primary scorer since the injury to Mir McLean. Unfortunately for UVA, Taylor then picked up two quick fouls and was pulled from the game less than three minutes in and would sit for the rest of the first half.
Florida State, which brought in the ACC's No. 1 scoring offense at 86.9 points per game, didn't stay quiet for long. The Seminoles went on a 10-0 run over a two and a half minute stretch to grab a four-point lead behind four points each from Timpson and Taylor O'Brien.
At the end of the opening quarter, Virginia made a big play to narrow the deficit. Carole Miller blocked Mariana Valenzuela's three-pointer and then Yonta Vaughn took the ball down the floor and knocked down a three-pointer just as the buzzer expired to make it 17-16 Florida State at the end of the first.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than three points in the period. Back-to-back three-pointers from Sam Brunelle and Yonta Vaughn put the Cavaliers back in front, but the Seminoles answered right back. Florida State's freshman sensation Ta'Niya Latson, the ACC's leading scorer at 24.3 points per game, woke up after scoring just two points in the first quarter and scored seven in the second.
Virginia hit four threes in the second quarter and six in the first half, including a triple from McKenna Dale that gave UVA the lead in the final minute, but Taylor O'Brien knocked down a couple of free throws to give the Seminoles a 38-37 lead at halftime. Yonta Vaughn and London Clarkson paced the Cavaliers with nine points in the first half, while Latson matched them with nine of her own.
The third quarter has been a big one for Virginia all season and Thursday night was no exception. After sitting out the final 17 minutes of the first half, Camryn Taylor came back into the game and was dominant, tallying ten points on 5/9 shooting to go along with four rebounds. Taylor's production sparked the offense and UVA also came to play as a team on the defensive end, holding the Seminoles without a field goal for more than eight minutes.
A hook shot from Latson made it 44-39 in favor of FSU at the 8:15 mark of the third, but Florida would not make another shot until just nine seconds remaining in the period. Virginia went on a 15-1 run, capped by a personal 5-0 run for Sam Brunelle to give the Cavaliers a commanding 60-47 lead. O'Mariah Gordon ended the UVA run and Florida State's field goal drought with a three-pointer late in the third, but Virginia still took a ten-point lead into the final frame. The Seminoles made just three of their 17 shots in the quarter, while the Cavaliers made 10 of their 18 field goal attempts to outscore FSU 23-12 in the period, turning a 38-37 halftime deficit into a 60-50 lead entering the fourth quarter.
A week ago, it was a 22-2 run in the fourth quarter that allowed No. 22 North Carolina to avert Virginia's upset bid as the Tar Heels came from behind to beat UVA 70-59. In that game, UNC outscored UVA 28-8 in the fourth period. In a frustratingly similar outcome, Florida State outscored Virginia 27-8 in the fourth quarter of this game. In the loss to UNC, the Tar Heels were not called for a single foul in the fourth quarter. One-sided officiating played a similar role in Florida State's come-from-behind effort. Florida State attempted 12 free throws in the fourth quarter, making 10 of them, as compared to just four free throw attempts for Virginia. For the entire game, the Seminoles attempted 29 free throws to just eight for the Cavaliers.
The Hoos certainly played a part in their own demise. The UVA defense allowed the Seminoles to consistently produce open three-point looks in the zone set and when Virginia switched back to a man-to-man defense, Florida State was able to get downhill and to the rim at will. Offensively, Virginia made just 2/16 field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and went nearly six minutes without scoring, too frequently settling for poor shot selection.
FSU went on a 9-0 run behind a pair of layups by Makayla Timpson and a three-pointer from Gordon less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to get back within three points. Another turnaround jumper from Timpson got the Noles within one and then Valencia Myers gave Florida State the lead with a pair of free throws. Virginia was whistled for an offensive foul and Sara Bejedi took advantage with a three-pointer on the other end. UVA was called for another offensive foul on the next possession as Sam Brunelle was whistled for a highly-questionable charge. Bejedi once again took advantage with a mid-range jumper to put the Seminoles ahead 68-62. All told, Florida State went on an 18-0 run to turn a 12-point deficit into a six-point lead.
Then came the most controversial call of the season. Sam Brunelle set a screen on Sara Bejedi and the collision sent Bejedi to the floor at Brunelle's feet. With Brunelle's right ankle in between Bejedi's legs, Bejedi clamped her knees together, preventing Brunelle from being able to remove her foot. In frustration, Brunelle removed her foot and then kicked Bejedi in between the legs while she was still on the ground. The refs immediately called a double-technical on Brunelle and Bejedi. After reviewing the play for several minutes, the officials confirmed the technical foul on Bejedi and assessed a flagrant 2 foul on Brunelle for "fighting", resulting in an ejection for Brunelle. A chorus of boos rang down from the JPJ crowd, which then gave a standing ovation to Brunelle as she exited the floor.
McKenna Dale knocked down both of the technical free throws to end UVA's scoring drought, but the damage was done. The Cavaliers never fully recovered their composure and Florida State held on for the 77-68 win.
Sara Bejedi ended up scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter to fuel FSU's comeback and finished tied with Ta'Niya Latson with 15 points each to lead the Seminoles in scoring. Makayla Timpson added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The game's leading scorer was Camryn Taylor, who had an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double despite playing just 21 minutes. Brunelle and London Clarkson joined Taylor in double figures with 11 points each.
Had the two fourth-quarter meltdowns against Florida State and North Carolina played out a little differently, Virginia could be on a three-game winning streak right now. Instead, the Cavaliers have lost four of their last five games and they'll have little time to recover before traveling to South Bend to take on No. 7 Notre Dame on Sunday at 2pm.
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