Clemson's leading scorer Loyal McQueen was held in check on Thursday night, only scoring six points against Virginia

by Grayson Mann - Correspondent - Thu Jan 09 20:53:09 GMT-05:00 2025

CLEMSON – Shawn Poppie and the Tigers looked to continue their winning ways on Thursday night, and gain some traction in the ACC against Virginia.

The Cavaliers had different ideas.

Led by Kymora Johnson’s season-high 28 points, Virginia soared back to a .500 record in ACC play, snapping Clemson’s win streak, 67-60.

After a first half that nearly turned into a three-point party, the Cavalier defense found a way to shut down an essential facet of Poppie’s offense.

In the first 20 minutes, the Tigers dropped seven threes, establishing an offensive identity early to combat the Cavaliers’ tight zone switches inside.

Where the Tigers found most of their success from beyond the arc, the Cavaliers took to inside the paint to collect points. Virginia outscored Clemson in the paint 30-22, asserting itself inside, and creating enough consistency for the win.

Loyal McQueen, Clemson’s leading scorer, was held scoreless in the first half, facing an early double team on the Tigers’ first possession. That defensive tone-setter forced Poppie’s top option offensively to lead the facilitation.

That ball movement became the focal point of the offensive success, as they assisted on 21 of their 22 made baskets. In several instances, the possession would drag out to the final ticks, only for a wide-open Tiger to pop at the last second, which usually came from the three-point line.

Poppie’s unit is certainly no stranger to close contests as of late, with two of their last three matchups being decided by four points or less. That trend continued against Virginia, with the fourth quarter featuring both units trading baskets.

With 2:40 to go, Olivia McGhee found herself isolated on the right side of the key, and drained a three-pointer to Virginia up eight, breaking that back and forth the ACC foes were locked into.

Clemson quickly responded as Mia Moore delivered with a three-pointer of her own, contributing to her second 20-point game on the season. It looked as if the Tigers had life left to keep their winning streak alive, but a blocked Tessa Miller shot with 43 seconds to play put those hopes on ice.

In the losing effort, the Tiger offense shot 40.4 percent from the field, draining 11 of their 32 attempts from beyond the arc.

Virginia drained 42.1 percent of its shots from the field, enough to stave off the rallying Tigers.

Clemson outscored Virginia 26-0 off the bench.

The Tigers will continue their homestand, welcoming Top 5 Notre Dame into Littlejohn on Sunday, January 12th at 2:00 p.m. on the CW Network.

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