CHARLOTTESVILLE, Feb. 20 -- With 24 seconds remaining and Virginia clinging to a two-point lead, LaTonya Blue stepped to the free throw line for a one-and-one. The Cavaliers could not have wished for anyone better to take the shots.
Blue, who had carried Virginia throughout the game, calmly swished the first and then, after a timeout, the second to secure Virginia's 63-61 victory over No. 20 Maryland on Sunday.
Virginia's Denesha Kenion shoots over the Terrapins in the first half. The Cavs' LaTonya Blue scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
(Andrew Shurtleff -- AP)
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"I didn't have any nerves," said Blue, a Baltimore native. "We practice free throws every day. I just felt like we weren't going to lose so I just had to knock them down."
Blue scored a career-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting to lead Virginia (18-8, 7-5 ACC). Maryland (18-7, 7-6) dropped to sixth place while Virginia, which is 2-4 against ranked teams this season, moved to fifth in the ACC.
The 2,736 fans, including a vocal contingent of Maryland supporters, made University Hall feel like an NCAA tournament game.
"The crowd was terrific today," Virginia Coach Debbie Ryan said. "It was very active, boisterous, just a very into-the-game crowd. Both teams were playing for something today."
Maryland started each half strong, but became rattled by Virginia's aggressive defense. The Terrapins made 11 of their first 20 shots to take a 25-17 lead. Later, they went ahead 51-44 on the strength of a 13-0 second-half run. The Cavaliers withstood each of those surges by taking advantage of Maryland's passiveness.
"I don't know why we" become tentative, said guard Shay Doron, who led Maryland with 15 points. "I don't think we should ever play like that. . . . It was working for us being aggressive."
Virginia struggled to score throughout the game, making only 33 percent of its shots. Had it not been for Blue, the outcome might have been different.
Maryland, however, failed to capitalize on Virginia's scoring woes. The Terrapins were careless with the ball and allowed the Cavaliers too many second chances. Virginia scored 19 points off Maryland's 15 turnovers and 21 points on 18 offensive rebounds.
"I thought they played hungrier than we did," said Maryland Coach Brenda Frese, who received her first technical of the season for arguing with officials. "They really were inspired."
Virginia neutralized Crystal Langhorne's effectiveness underneath the basket by using what Ryan called "an army" of post players to contain the talented freshman forward. Langhorne still managed to record her conference-leading 12th double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds and scoring 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
"Langhorne's a great player," said forward Jocelyn Logan-Friend (St. John's), who had three blocks. "The most important thing that I focused on when I was guarding her was to try to not let her get second-chance points."
• GEORGE WASHINGTON 75, XAVIER 66: Anna Montañana scored a career-high 27 points and Jessica Simmonds added 21 to lead the Colonials in overtime at Smith Center. The win lifts the Colonials into a first-place tie with the Musketeers (17-8, 11-3) in the Atlantic 10 West Division. The Colonials (18-7, 11-3) outscored the Musketeers 10-1 in overtime.
• UNC WILMINGTON 51, GEORGE MASON 47: Meagan Samis had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Seahawks at Patriot Center. Julie Flanders led the Patriots (10-14, 6-9 Colonial Athletic Association) with 11 points. The Seahawks are 7-17, 4-11.
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