Charlottesville, Va. – Delicia Washington poured in 21 of her 23 points in the second half and Clemson rallied from a 12-point third quarter deficit to down Virginia, 59-55, on Sunday afternoon. The win moves the Tigers to 8-15 (2-10 ACC), while the loss drops the Cavaliers to 3-17 (0-10 ACC).
Washington led all scorers with 23 points, while pulling down a team-high-tying seven rebounds. Daisha Bradford turned in nine points, pulled down seven rebounds, dished out four assists, had two blocks and two steals for a solid stat line. The Tigers turned in their best shooting when it mattered, shooting 71.4% in the fourth quarter. The Tigers shot 13-17 from the free throw line, while Virginia was 9-26 from the charity stripe.
Kionna Gaines hit a buzzer-beater to end the first quarter to put the Tigers down three, before Virginia outscored the Tigers 18-12 in the second, sending the game to halftime at 33-24 Virginia.
Virginia pushed the lead to 12 with 4:27 to go in the third, but the Tigers ended the quarter on a 9-1 run, capped by a Hannah Hank three, going to the game’s final 10 minutes down 43-39.
Washington hit back-to-back shots to pull the Tigers to within two at 47-45, then tied the game at 47 at the fourth-quarter media timeout. Virginia regained the lead at 49-47, but Washington went on a 6-1 run by herself to give Clemson a 53-50 lead with 1:30 to go. Bradford pushed the lead to five on a steal and layup and the Tigers would never look back. Clemson made all its free throws down the stretch to take the 59-55 win in Charlottesville.
The Tigers are back in action on Tuesday, taking on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., at 7:00 p.m.
