No. 19 Virginia comes on strong late, upsets No. 12 Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Debbie Ryan wasn't overly concerned when her veteran Virginia (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) basketball team missed its first eight shots and spotted Atlantic Coast Conference-leading and host Florida State an early seven-point lead Tuesday night.

"They were very high emotionally but I kept reminding my team they had to come down," Ryan said of the Seminoles (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP), who were celebrating Senior Night and a chance to lock up a share of the ACC regular-season title.

She was right as Virginia (22-7, 8-5) overcame an 11-point first half deficit to upset Florida State, 68-63.

Virginia senior forward Lyndra Littles scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, including a pair of free throws with 21.3 seconds remaining to give the Cavaliers a 66-60 lead. Littles gave Virginia the lead for good at 61-60 by converting a backdoor lob play.

Junior Monica Wright finished with 18 points and senior Aisha Mohammed added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

"When we came back out in the second half, I thought Lyndra and Monica really settled down," Ryan said. "We absolutely played some of our best defense in the second half."

Florida State (23-6, 11-2) managed just 27 second half points as the Cavaliers clamped down defensively and on the boards. Virginia used a 45-31 rebounding advantage, including 20 offensive boards, to put up 21 second-chance points.

None were bigger than Littles' two free throws, which followed her offensive rebound off a missed free throw by Britnee Millner.

"It was just as important when we got the offensive boards that we went back up and converted," said Littles, who finished with nine rebounds. "It's all about a game of possessions. We got more possessions because we rebounded well."

It was a disappointing finish in the final home game for Florida State seniors Tanae Davis-Cain and Mara Freshour, who could have clinched a share of the school's first ACC regular season title with a victory.

Now the Seminoles must win at Wake Forest on Sunday and hope for a Maryland loss to either Boston College or Miami. The Terrapins hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their 72-71 victory, which is Florida State's only other loss since Dec. 21.

"It was a disappointing second half effort on our part," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "You have to give Virginia credit. They knew what they were good at and they stayed with it. I thought they were tougher than us in the second half."

Sophomore guard Courtney Ward's 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds remaining trimmed the Cavaliers' lead to 66-63. Ward led the Seminoles with a career-high 18 points and Davis-Cain added 13, but neither could come up with a loose ball after teammate Jacinta Monroe deflected a long inbounds pass.

"I thought we had a great deal of toughness," said Ryan, whose team had lost three of its last six to fall from ACC contention. "This team has been tested. Its been battle-tested. We've developed a little bit of a toughness ourselves."