BALTIMORE—Sophomore guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) scored a game-high 21 points and junior forward Meghan Colabella (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) posted a double-double as the UMBC women's basketball team (0-1) gave 14th-ranked Virginia (1-0) all it could handle before falling, 68-57, in front of a record crowd of 1,604 at the RAC Arena in the season opener for both teams.
The first half saw 10 ties and no lead larger than five points. Kurowski, the America East Player of the Game, scored eight of UMBC's first 10 points, including a pair of game-tying field goals in the first 4:35, and her three-point play with 13:01 left in the period gave the Retrievers a 17-14 advantage.
Trailing by two, the Cavaliers scored seven straight points to go up by five, 26-21, but an 8-1 Retriever run put the hosts back on top, 29-27, with 4:48 to play, and the game was tied, 34-34, at halftime.
Kurowski made seven of 10 shots in the first half and led all players with 17 points and seven rebounds, as the Retrievers shot 48.4 percent from the floor while holding Virginia to 34.1 percent.
The game remained close for the first 12:08 of the second stanza, as neither team led by more than one possession. With the Retrievers trailing, 47-44, senior guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) nailed a game-tying three-pointer to at the 10:10 mark, then made one of two free throws to put UMBC on top, 48-47, with 7:52 remaining.
But Virginia's Preseason All-American guard Monica Wright, who missed her first 13 shots of the game, finally found her groove, sparking a 13-0 run over a 3:35 stretch with 10 points to give the Cavaliers the lead for good at 60-48 with 3:21 remaining.
Sophomore forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) was the only other Retriever in double figures, as she added 11 points and eight rebounds. Wright led three Cavaliers in double figures with 15 points.
The Retrievers made just four of 24 second-half shots and finished at 34.5 percent in the game. Both teams struggled from the foul line, shooting below 60 percent each for the game. Virginia edged UMBC on the boards, 47-43.
The win was the 700th in Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan's career.
The Retrievers return to action on Sunday, Nov. 15, when they host in-state rival UMES at 1 p.m. at the RAC Arena.
