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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Three minutes was all it took Renee Robinson to turn a potential embarrassment into another highlight
in her Virginia career.
The senior point guard scored her first nine points during a
14-4 run midway through the second half Friday night and pushed No.
19 Virginia to a 74-62 victory over Pepperdine in the first round
of the women's NCAA Mideast Regional.
"I was feeling it for those three minutes," Robinson said of
the burst that turned a 40-37 deficit into a 51-44 lead with 12:08
remaining. Robinson hit a 10-footer, a 3-pointer from the left
side, two free throws and a layup in the run.
Robinson, a native of East Palo Alto, Calif., said she was
anxious to play a school from her home state and "didn't want to
have to go home embarrassed."
Telisha Quarles, embarrassed by a 1-for-11 shooting performance
in an ACC tournament semifinal loss to North Carolina, also needn't
worry now. She hit four 3-pointers, including one that built
Virginia's lead to 56-50 with 7:20 left.
"I hit my first jumper and I knew they were going to fall,"
Quarles said.
"That was huge," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said of Quarles'
last 3-pointer. "It fired her up. It fired her teammates up and it
gave us some breathing room."
Virginia (24-8), making its 17th consecutive appearance in the
tournament, got help from its crowd during the game-changing burst.
The Cavaliers are host to the first round for the 13th time in 15
years, but the first time in three years.
After Quarles' 3, she scored on a driving layup that banked high
off the glass to make it 58-50 with 6:37 left as the crowd
thundered down its approval.
Schuye LaRue then scored off a feed from Svetlana Volnaya and,
after Nadja Morgan hit two free throws for the Waves, LaRue
converted a three-point play.
Pepperdine was making its first appearance in the NCAA
tournament in the 25-year history of the program and played like it
had nothing to lose.
It didn't, and coach Mark Trakh sounded like he'd won, too.
"We came into the ACC champion's backyard and were up four at
halftime and down three with six minutes to play," he said. "I'm
extremely, extremely proud.
"I think we can build on this experience and move on."
Until Virginia's burst, it looked like the Waves would stick
around.
"We knew they were going to come out and make a run," said
Rasheeda Clark, who scored 13 points for Pepperdine but only four
in the second half.
"They came out and they turned it up a notch. We couldn't hit
the shots we needed to down the stretch and that was the
difference."
Damaris Hinojosa led the Waves with 17 points and Clark and
Morgan had 13.
Quarles led Virginia with 18 points and Volnaya had 16. LaRue,
like Robinson scoreless in the first half, and Robinson each
finished with 11. LaRue added 13 rebounds and three steals, and
Robinson had seven assists and nine rebounds.
The Cavaliers will play No. 17 Boston College, a 93-76 winner
against Nebraska, in the second round Sunday night.
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ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Pepperdine NCAA Team Report
Virginia NCAA Team Report
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