Lyndra Littles scored the game-winning basket with 4 seconds to play.

Lyndra Littles sat and watched with four fouls for nearly 10 minutes during the second half of Monday's WNIT contest. The scoreboard seesawed back and forth. She watched. Two media timeouts. She watched.

Needless to say perhaps, when Littles returned with five minutes remaining and the score deadlocked at 63, she was tired of watching. It was time to play. Littles delivered 8 of the team's final 11 points, including the game-winning basket with four seconds to go, as UVa advanced past Charlotte 74-72.

The sophomore post had no doubt the shot was going in.

"When Sharneé [Zoll] said let's run 'deception', I got really, really excited, because I figured I was going to make it because I was anxious to go home because I haven't been feeling well. We were both joking on the side 'Let's make it so I can go home, get something to eat,'" Littles said. "I had all the confidence in the world, especially coming from my teammates and especially Sharneé. She said 'We're running deception, we're going to hit this shot, and we're going home' and that's it. That's all I needed to know. I just had to hear it from my point guard."

The game-winner came on a sidelines out of bounds play. Freshmen Monica Wright inbounded the ball from just across halfcourt, a few feet from the Virginia bench. The play featured Brenna McGuire running hard along the baseline to the near corner, Siedah Williams screening and fading away from the inbounds area, and Sharnee Zoll cutting hard from the baseline area to the top of the key.

All of that? A distraction for a play called deception. As all of that swirled around the edges, Littles posted up hard above the inbounds-side block. With Littles sealing her man, Wright delivered a perfect pass to the designed target and the soph did the rest. Strong move. Short middle jumper. Game over.

"Lyndra was our first look. We went to her to win the game," UVa coach Debbie Ryan said. "I would have liked her to go to the opposite side and use the backboard - that's what the play's designed to do - but she got the shot that she needed to. She knew what to do and Monica's pass was right on the money."

Of course, the final play was set up by a little late-game drama. The Cavaliers rallied from a 72-68 deficit after Charlotte's Traci Ray drained her fifth 3-pointer with 1:37 remaining. Two Littles' baskets tied the score and UVa came up with the stop it needed on defense.

A bit overzealous Wright gave the 49ers hope, however, when she fired up a transition jumper with 15 seconds remaining. The shot clock was off, meaning UVa had the last shot coming its way.

"Monica wasn't supposed to take that shot. As a matter of fact, I reminded them in the huddle to look at me. Monica just saw it and her will to win overcame her," Ryan said with a slight smile. "We wanted to run a particular play and wait until the last five to six seconds, and then take a shot. As it turned out, we did get that shot."

"I was just like we've got to win, so by any means necessary. I didn't know Coach Ryan was telling me to stop," Wright said. "I just knew that we had to win the game and I didn't know how we were going to do it. After we called the time out, Coach Ryan said next time to pull it out and run something."

Wright's missed shot gave Charlotte the ball and Sabrina Gregory seemed poised to make the hosts pay when she took the outlet pass after the rebound. She streaked up court with Ray running ahead as well, essentially a 2-on-1 situation for Virginia's Sharnee Zoll. The Cav point guard made the play to save the Hoos' season, though. She took a called charge on the break.

That gave UVa the final possession and Littles came through.

"I don't know how it happened. Usually I don't get charges called, because I fall before the person hits me; I get nervous because people are so much bigger and running so fast," Zoll said with a laugh. "I know I had to take it because Ray was behind me and the girl was coming at me at full speed. I just knew I had to take it. If I don't take that charge, they score, and that could be our season right there. I just stood there and took one for the team."

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