CLEMSON – Ninth-seeded Clemson knocked down 10 three-pointers on 50-percent shooting as the Tigers picked up a 63-50 win over No. 8 seed Virginia in the second round of the ACC Tournament at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga., Thursday.

After sitting out in the Tigers’ loss to Stanford to end the regular season, All-ACC guard Mia Moore went for a game-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 17 in the second half, as Clemson avenged an earlier loss to the Cavaliers on Jan. 1 in Virginia.

Six Clemson players made shots from beyond-the-arc, as Moore, guard Hannah Kohn, forward Taylor Johnson-Matthews, and guard Rusne Augustinaite each knocked down multiple shots from long range. The Tigers also held Virginia 25 points below their season average.

Clemson’s bench scored 25 points en route to clinching head coach Shawn Poppie’s first appearance in the ACC Quarterfinal Round.

On their first offensive possessions of the game, the Tigers (21-10) had three shots blocked, and the Cavaliers knocked down a second-chance three-pointer to take a 3-0 lead. After adjusting to Virginia’s zone and clear size advantage, Johnson-Matthews entered off the bench and knocked down a midrange jumper to put the Tigers on the board. 

Guard Rachael Rose knocked down her first three of the morning and second-team All-ACC honoree Mia Moore drained two free throws to take a 7-3 lead with 6:22 to play in the first quarter.

Virginia (19-12) punched back with a 7-3 lead, bullying the Tigers in the paint for four free throws. Both teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, until the Cavaliers held a 15-14 lead after the first quarter.

In the first, Moore and center Demeara Hinds each picked up two early fouls, leaving the Tigers without their leaders in assists, rebounds, and points. In their absence, Rose took up the slack. The senior from Scranton, Pa., recorded two first quarter steals while running the offense, despite taking two hard fouls and coming up gimpy.

Clemson recorded nine bench points to Virginia’s four and six points off of turnovers to Virginia’s three. 

In the second period, the Tigers continued to show why they lead the ACC in three-pointers made. Augustinaite, who has shot it from over 40 percent beyond the arc this season, knocked down two three-pointers in the second. Johnson-Matthews drained one of her own to help the Tigers cut into a four-point deficit.

Because of the Tigers’ proficiency from long-range, Virginia was forced to come out of their zone defense, which gave Clemson problems in the paint in the early minutes of the matchup.

Backup center Morgan Lee knocked down a short baseline jumper to take a 23-22 lead over the Cavaliers with 4:49 to play in the second quarter, after trailing 22-18 just a minute before. Two layups from Virginia set a 28-26 Clemson lead at the break.

Despite Virginia averaging over six more points in the third quarter than it does in the second, the Tigers dominated early in the second half. Rose and Moore each knocked down a jumper for a 5-0 run in the first minute of the third, forcing the Cavaliers to take a hasty timeout. 

After the timeout, the Cavaliers went on an 12-0 run, taking a 36-33 lead over the Tigers with 4:30 to play. The Tigers turned the ball over three times during a scoring drought that lasted over four minutes.

Moore answered with a layup and a pullup jumper to take a 37-36 lead. After the senior picked up her third foul on the next possession and headed to the bench, the Tigers turned the ball over twice, but deep three-pointers from Kohn and Johnson-Matthews resulted in a 43-39 Clemson lead headed to the fourth.

Hinds sunk a layup to open the fourth, then Moore went on a 5-0 solo run off of a layup and her second triple of the night to take a 50-41 lead and force another Cavaliers timeout. Clemson added four free throws and Moore added three more points to take a 10-point lead over the Cavaliers.

Clemson made three final field goals to secure its 13-point victory.

Johnson-Matthews added 10 points, Augustinatite had six, Kohn notched eight and Lee added four.

Rose added four rebounds, five assists, and eight points in her first-ever ACC Tournament game. Forward Raven Thompson finished with a team-high 11 rebounds, making up almost a third of the Tigers’ defensive boards.

MOORE INJURY STATUS

After sitting out in Clemson’s loss to Stanford due to a groin injury, Moore was questionable for Thursday’s game. After warming up with the team, she appeared in the starting lineup for the Tigers. After picking up two early fouls, she played only four first half minutes, but played 18 minutes in the second half.

LOPSIDED DIFFERENTIALS

Virginia finished with 24 points in the paint to Clemson’s 16, notching 39 rebounds to the Tigers’ 35. However, Clemson finished with 18 more points from beyond-the-arc, and 25 bench points to the Cavaliers’ 11.

TIMEOUT USAGE

When Clemson opened the second half with a 5-0 run, Virginia’s coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton called a quick timeout. When the Cavaliers answered with a 12-0 run of their own, however, Clemson coach Shawn Poppie did not call a timeout, letting his team play through it. They eventually finished the quarter with a four-point lead.

BIG DIFFERENCE

In Clemson’s regular-season loss to Virginia on Jan. 1, the Tigers allowed 73 points and allowed Tabitha Amanze 18 points. On Thursday, Clemson allowed only 50 points and held Amanze to five points. In both games, the Tigers held scoring leader Kymora Johnson under her average of 19.3 points per game and forced over 10 turnovers in both games.

WHAT IT ALL MEANS

Clemson clinches a 21-win season for the first time since 2000-’01. The Tigers improved their program record to 2-3 in the ACC Tournament as a nine-seed, and 3-6 in the second round. The Tigers have a 6-4 lead against UVA in the ACC Tournament and improved to 1-1 against the Cavaliers on the season. Virginia is the second team Clemson has played twice this season, along with Georgia Tech.

NEXT UP

The top-seeded Duke Blue Devils will have their chance at revenge against the Tigers after suffering a loss at Clemson on Feb. 22. The Blue Devils and Tigers will play in the Quarterfinal Round of the Tournament on Friday at 11 a.m. It will mark Poppie’s first trip to the Quarterfinal Round of the ACC Tournament at Clemson. Coverage will be shown on ACC Network.