Late free throws sink Cavs

The faint hopes of remaining a fixture in the race for the ACC regular-season title were just a foot away.

Unfortunately, that distance was what separated Virginia guard Ariana Moorer’s would-be game-winning shot and the front of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

Moorer’s missed layup secured a 59-58 come-from-behind victory for No. 9 Florida State over No. 21 Virginia as 3,162 watched inside John Paul Jones Arena.

“It was open for a minute and in my head I was thinking, ‘Don’t leave it short,’” said Moorer. “And I left it short.”

Moorer had collected the inbounds throw with 5.9 seconds left after Florida State center Jacinta Monroe connected on a pair of free throws to push the Seminoles ahead by a point.

Virginia (20-7, 8-4 ACC) could have called a timeout, as it did in the final seconds of a loss at home to Maryland.

With that game in mind, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan did not stop play, allowing her second option to attack the basket.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better situation,” Ryan said. “We were just going to take it to the rim. I felt like they couldn’t come near us because they were going to call the foul.

“Just by the way that they were calling it, I felt like, ‘Just take it to the rim.’ I have just as much confidence in Ariana Moorer as I have in Monica Wright in that situation.”

The victory capped off a remarkable rally for the Seminoles (24-4, 10-2), who trailed by 16 points, at 22-6, with just over eight minutes left in the first half.

“It was just another game in the ACC, right? Wow,” FSU coach Sue Semrau joked. “Those were two teams that wanted to win very badly going at it. We are very fortunate to come out with that win.”

The fact that Virginia had a chance to win the game was rather remarkable in itself.

Trailing 57-50, Virginia used a flurry of Seminole turnovers to chip away and eventually took a 58-57 lead after Chelsea Shine had her shot blocked by Monroe and then stole the ball from Courtney Ward. Shine promptly dished a bounce pass to Monica Wright on the baseline for an easy layup.

FSU almost lost the ball on its following possession after a loose ball at the top of the key rolled into the backcourt with 14 seconds left. But Ward chased the ball down and used a nifty behind-the-back dribble to create enough separation to force up a leaning jumper.

That attempt bounced off the rim and into the hands of Monroe.

Virginia center Telia McCall was then whistled for a foul as Monroe tried to get off a follow shot, leading to the pivotal final free throws.

Monroe made both shots with near perfection.

“I have done it before,” said Monroe, who had eight points and five rebounds. “I don’t really get nervous. They are just free throws. Coach puts us in that predicament all the time in practice.”

Monroe raced back to the defensive end just in time to set up before Moorer’s final attempt, but the 6-foot-5 center made sure she avoided contact.

“I had a hand in her face,” she said, “but I didn’t want to foul.”

The fact that Moorer reminded herself not to come up short on the shot was troublesome for Ryan.

“You can’t say that,” the coach pointed out. “If that is what you are thinking, that’s what is going to happen. It’s kind of the way it works.

“Your body is controlled by your mind.”

It was not the reason for the fourth loss of the season against a ranked opponent.

“It didn’t come down to the last play,” said Wright, who paced Virginia with 23 points and four steals. “There were several plays in the first half that we didn’t take advantage of, we didn’t convert or we let them get second chances of offensive rebounds.

“It didn’t have anything to do with Ari’s play.”

For the game, Virginia shot just 38 percent (19 of 50) from the field and was beaten on the glass for rebounds 35-28.

Despite shooting just 2 for 9 from the field, Moorer managed to join Wright in double figures with 12 points.

The Cavaliers, hoping now to finish in third place, return to action on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Duke. The final home game will follow on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Virginia Tech.