March 7, 2008
Final Stats | AP Photo Gallery ! Video: Post-game Press Conference
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Monica Wright scored 17 points and No. 25 Virginia rallied to beat Georgia Tech 52-43 Friday in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Lyndra Littles had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Aisha Mohammed finished with 12 points and 11 boards for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers (23-8), who advanced to the tournament semis for the first time since 2005.
They will play No. 2 North Carolina, the tournament’s top seed, or ninth-seeded Clemson on Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Iasia Hemingway scored 19 points for the fifth-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-9), who were trying to reach the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2003.
Georgia Tech grabbed a 36-32 lead on Bridgitte Ardossi’s layup with 10:59 left in the game and the two teams swapped the lead four times before Littles hit a short jumper. Mohammed followed with a layup to make it 44-41 Virginia with 3:21 left.
The Yellow Jackets managed to pull within one on Janie Mitchell’s jumper with 2:53 to play, but Virginia closed out the game with eight unanswered points.
The quarterfinal matchup was much different than the teams’ last meeting just five days earlier – a 103-101, double-overtime win by Virginia.
In Friday’s rematch, the Cavaliers – who moved into the Top 25 this week for the first time this season – missed nine of their first 10 shots in the first five minutes of the first half.
That allowed Georgia Tech, making their third straight trip to the tournament quarterfinals, to go ahead 19-15 on Hemingway’s driving layup with 4:33 left.
Virginia eventually rallied to take a 24-21 halftime lead.
