Virginia Women's Basketball Pulls Massive Upset Over No. 22 NC State 71-59

The Cavaliers stifled the Wolfpack and earned their biggest win of the season

On Saturday, Sam Brunelle announced she was having surgery for an injured foot and would be out for the remainder of the season. The next day, Virginia was set to host No. 22 NC State, a team who routed UVA 87-62 in Raleigh back on January 8th, the same day that the Cavaliers lost Mir McLean to a season-ending injury. 

Without Brunelle and McLean, the Hoos would have the odds stacked against them as they looked to snap a seven-game losing streak in ACC play. Behind a swarming team defensive effort and a brilliant performance from Taylor Valladay, the Cavaliers did just that, as Virginia pulled a stunning 71-59 upset over No. 22 NC State on Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena. 

Although the Wolfpack got on the board with a quick layup from Jakia Brown-Turner just six seconds after the tip-off, the Cavaliers brought their A-game on the defensive end after that, holding NC State to just four made field goals for the rest of the quarter. The Wolfpack shot just 5/18 (27.8%) from the floor in the opening period. UVA built a 12-7 lead late in the first behind six points from Camryn Taylor and four from Taylor Valladay, but NC State's Jada Boyd scored five-straight points to end the quarter with the game tied at 12-12. 

Virginia continued to play tough defense in the second quarter, holding NC State to just five made shots again. But that level of defense came at a price, as the Cavaliers were impacted by foul trouble as they have been all season, especially at the forward positions. Camryn Taylor, McKenna Dale, and Kaydan Lawson each picked up their second personal fouls in the second period. With Mir McLean and Sam Brunelle out for the season, UVA's lack of depth up front has significantly hampered the Cavaliers this season. 

Still, UVA managed to win the quarter 16-12 and took a 28-24 lead at halftime. Alexia Smith and London Clarkson scored four points each in the second period and Yonta Vaughn and Kaydan Lawson each knocked down a three-pointer for Virginia. Camryn Taylor led all scorers with 10 points at halftime. 

In the third quarter, the Cavaliers somehow found another gear on the defensive end, holding the Wolfpack to only four made shots on 25% shooting. This time, Virginia managed to take advantage of that opportunity on the offensive end, outscoring NC State 20-12 in the quarter. UVA went on a 9-0 run and built a lead as large as 15 points and took a 48-36 lead into the final period. 

Taylor Valladay took over the game in the third quarter, scoring 10 points on a perfect 5/5 shooting. Virginia also got six more points on a couple of three-pointers from Kaydan Lawson, but Lawson also picked up her fourth personal foul with more than three minutes left in the quarter. 

Virginia has had fourth-quarter leads over ranked opponents multiple times in ACC play this season, but the Cavaliers have frequently squandered those leads, running out of gas just before the finish line in some frustrating losses. 

The Hoos knew that the Wolfpack were going to make them earn this upset victory over the final ten minutes of the game. Sure enough, NC State went on a 7-2 run to open the fourth, making it a seven-point game just two minutes into the period. Things got even more tough for the Cavaliers when Camryn Taylor fouled out of the game with more than five minutes remaining. 

Growing desperate to avoid the road upset, NC State implemented a full-court press that caused all kinds of problems for Virginia. The Cavaliers had just ten turnovers through the first three quarters of the game, but turned the ball over seven times in the fourth quarter alone, largely due to the NC State press forcing a couple of ten-second violations and a few bad pass turnovers by UVA. 

With the pressure mounting, the Cavaliers answered the bell. After NC State drew within seven at 50-43, Virginia responded with a crucial 11-0 run, holding the Wolfpack scoreless for nearly five minutes and getting some big buckets from Kaydan Lawson and Alexia Smith. The biggest hero of the game for Virginia was Taylor Valladay, who scored another ten points in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for the Hoos. Valladay finished with an incredible statline of 22 points on 7/12 shooting ,eight rebounds, seven assists and a steal. 20 of Valladay's 22 points came after halftime. 

"I'm just so proud of Tay," UVA head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said after the game. "To see Tay have that kind of game today in a win, beating a ranked team on our home floor, just putting the team on her back... we needed that performance from Tay today to win this game." 

NC State's Jada Boyd scored ten points in the fourth quarter to help the Wolfpack get it under single digits, but the Cavaliers managed to take care of business at the free throw line down the stretch and broke the full-court press a couple of more times to finally shut the door on NC State's comeback hopes. 

NC State came into the game shooting 33.8% from three as a team, good for 3rd in the ACC. With Virginia's man-to-man defense swarming on the perimeter, the Wolfpack made just four threes on 28 attempts for an abysmal 14.3%. Boyd had 22 points for the Wolfpack and Jakia Brown-Turner added 11 points, but the rest of the Wolfpack shot just 9/46 from the floor. 

Virginia got several quality individual performances across the board behind Taylor Valladay. Camryn Taylor had 15 points and five rebounds before fouling out and Kaydan Lawson added 14 points, including three three-pointers, and nine rebounds. Alexia Smith recorded 10 points and six rebounds. More important to UVA's win was the whole team's consistent effort, especially on the defensive end, as the Cavaliers delivered a complete performance on both ends of the floor despite having just eight active players on the roster.

"Eight is enough," Coach Mox said with a laugh. "No matter how many we got out there, as long as we band together and play for each other and support each other through everything, we'll be fine." 

The win was Virginia's first victory against a ranked opponent since February 16th, 2017. 

Now, 15-11 and 4-11 in ACC play, Virginia hosts Duke next Sunday at 2pm at John Paul Jones Arena in the final home game of the regular season. 

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