Wake Forest University
Virginia
Virginia Rallies Past Wake Forest in Final Minute
1/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) 
By Erika Carrubba, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWBB)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia's Mikayla Venson made two free throws with one second on the clock to beat Wake Forest 72-70 on Thursday in ACC play.
Wake Forest led by five with three minutes remaining in the game. Venson scored eight-straight Cavalier points, including back-to-back three pointers to give Virginia a 70-69 lead with 1:09 to play. Dearica Hamby made the first of two free-throw attempts to tie the game 70-70.
The Demon Deacons had the ball with 17.2 second remaining but Sarah Imovbioh stole the ball from Nicole Floyd. Floyd hustled to get back on defense but fouled Venson with one second on the clock. Venson made both free throws and Wake Forest's look at a last-second three came up short.
Hamby led Wake Forest (9-7, 0-2 ACC) with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor. Amber Campbell scored a career-high 18 points, including 16 in the second half. Campbell also had a career-high eight rebounds. Kelila Atkinson added 12 points and six assists.
Virginia held an early 7-4 lead which was erased by an 8-0 Demon Deacon run. Hamby scored back-to-back baskets and then dished to Floyd to score the first six points in the run. After Virginia pulled down a defensive rebound Campbell stole the ball and quickly scored to give the Demon Deacons a 12-7 lead with 15:46 on the clock.
After a quick Virginia timeout the Cavaliers went on a 10-0 run to take back the lead 17-12. Another Hamby layup temporarily halted the Virginia run but the Cavaliers remained in control, extending the lead to 13, 36-23, with 4:25 left in the first half on a Faith Randolph jumper. The Cavaliers did a lot of their damage on the offensive glass, scoring seven second chance points on nine offensive rebounds. Hamby scored six points in the final two minutes of the half to cut Virginia's lead to 38-31 at the break.
After Wake Forest cut the Virginia lead to one point three times early in the second half, Campbell grabbed a steal and scored on the fast break to tie the game 45-45. Hamby put in a layup to put the Demon Deacons ahead 47-45 for the first time in the second half.
Wake Forest scored six points in just over a minute and a half of play to open up its biggest lead of the game, 60-51, with 7:27 left to play. The Deacs maintained the lead until the final minute of the game when Venson heated up from behind the arc. She drained her sixth three-pointer of the game to give Virginia a 70-69 lead. Hamby briefly tied the game 70-70 with a free throw with 46 seconds remaining.
Both teams turned the ball over in the final 30 seconds leading to the foul and Venson's free throws that won Virginia the game 42-40.
NOTES:
• The last six meetings between Wake Forest and Virginia have been decided by six points or less.
• Amber Campbell had a career-high 18 points including 16 in the second half. She also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
• Dearica Hamby led all players with 27 points. It was her ninth 20-point game of the season.
• Wake Forest outscored Virginia 52-20 in the paint. The Demon Deacons scored 26 of their 31 first half points in the paint.
UP NEXT:
• Wake Forest hosts No. 6/7 Louisville in the ACC home opener on Sunday.
• Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at LJVM Coliseum.
• This is the first-ever meeting between Wake Forest and Louisville, the ACC's newest member.
• The Cardinals are 2-0 in league play with wins over Georgia Tech and Pitt.
