In a matter of minutes in the middle of the second half, No. 9 Maryland pulled away and disposed of No. 17 Virginia, 94-78, to exact revenge for an earlier loss in the border war rivalry.

Infuriated by lackluster defense in typical defensive sets, the longtime Virginia women’s basketball coach reached into her bag of tricks to secure a much-needed victory over Virginia Tech on Sunday.

Long before games begin, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan knows what she will get from veterans Lyndra Littles and Monica Wright on the offensive end.

Numerous employees inside the Virginia’s John Paul Jones were noncommittal when asked if the backdoor had been left open Thursday evening.

In a newly released mock bracket for the upcoming NCAA women’s basketball tournament, Virginia was pegged as a fifth seed headed to Columbus, Ohio to play Virginia Commonwealth.

The worst fears were realized after an MRI in late October revealed that Kellum had torn her anterior cruciate ligament for the third time.

Hartig did not score, but grabbed two rebounds and collected three assists and provided unnoticed dirty work.

One of the toughest days in the life of Debbie Ryan ended with a magical and memorable victory.

In Clemson, S.C., Virginia had three players score in double figures and answered every Clemson scoring run to register a 75-67 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.

It was an emotional conversation that will stay with Debbie Ryan for eternity.

Given that the offense provided more than enough scoring Friday night, the often porous defense and ill-timed fouling left a bad taste in Ryan’s mouth after the 16th-ranked Cavaliers failed to hold serve at home against No. 22 Florida State, losing 80-75.

Florida State escaped John Paul Jones Arena with something no program this season can stake claim to: a victory.

One of those foes will be in town tonight — Virginia (15-3, 2-1 ACC) entertains No. 22 Florida State (16-4, 4-0) at 7 p.m.

After a far-from-storybook start, Littles is merely focused on the future, which includes her final trip with her teammates to Virginia Tech tonight at 7 p.m. and a potential selection as a first-round pick in the WNBA draft.

It never happened with the frequency needed, evidenced by North Carolina’s convincing win in the rebounding battle en route to the Tar Heels’ highest point total in a series that now includes 75 head-to-head showdowns.