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GREENSBORO — Virginia had no intention of becoming the third upset victim of the ACC Women's tournament's opening round.

The sixth-seeded Cavaliers rode a dominant first-half performance and then withstood a second-half uprising from No. 11 Virginia Tech to defeat their in-state rival 66-57 Thursday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Cavaliers meet Duke today.

Aisha Mohammed, the league's leading rebounder, had 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Senior Lyndra Littles had 14 points and league player of the year frontrunner Monica Wright added 11, well below her 21.1 ppg average.

"We all have to step up and play the game and not just have Monica and Lyndra doing all of the job," Mohammed said. "So we have to contribute. I made a promise to myself that I would make sure I contribute anywhere I can contribute."

Virginia (23-8) ran out to a 39-21 lead at halftime by dominating the glass. The Cavaliers had 17 second-chance points after outrebounding Virginia Tech 31-11, which included a 14-3 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Virginia improved to 15-0 after leading at halftime.

A jumper by Littles with 18:24 remaining gave the Cavaliers their biggest lead, 43-22, but Virginia Tech (12-18), rallied behind Utaya Drye, who scored a game-high 21 points. The Hokies trimmed the deficit to nine at the six-minute mark (58-49), but would get no closer despite outscoring Virginia 36-27 in the second half.

"Unfortunately we didn't have two second halves," Virginia Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger said. "We came out very flat and Virginia came out like a team that lost its last regular-season game and was out to make a statement."

Mohammed, a native of Nigeria, made a loud statement with her performance. The 6-foot-3 senior had her 27th career double-double locked up by halftime (10 points, 10 rebounds) and helped pick up the offensive slack for Wright, who struggled with a game-high five turnovers.

"She had a great night tonight," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said of Mohammed.

No. 12 seed Clemson shocked fifth-seeded Georgia Tech in the morning game and No. 9 Wake Forest also edged No. 8 N.C. State, giving the Cavaliers plenty of reason to not take the Hokies lightly, despite their dominance in the rivalry. Virginia has now won five straight in the series and improved to 34-10 all-time vs. Tech.

VIRGINIA TECH (12-17) — Drye 7-16 6-8 21, Gordon 1-6 4-6 6, Davis 1-5 1-2 3, Biggs 5-14 0-1 10, Haskins 4-7 1-2 9, Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, Logan 0-1 0-0 0, Grey 0-1 0-0 0, Harrison 2-7 4-6 8, Basham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 16-25 57.

VIRGINIA (22-8) — Littles 6-14 1-2 14, Hartig 1-3 0-0 2, Mohammed 8-13 0-2 16, Millner 2-3 0-0 4, Wright 5-12 1-2 11, Moorer 3-4 1-2 9, London 1-5 0-0 3, Hartig 0-0 0-0 0, B.Edwards 0-3 0-0 0, Shine 3-6 1-1 7. Totals 29-63 4-9 66.

Halftime—Virginia 39-21. 3-point goals—Virginia Tech 1-9 (Drye 1-2, Logan 0-1, Davis 0-2, Biggs 0-4), Virginia 4-10 (Moorer 2-3, Littles 1-3, London 1-3, Wright 0-1). Rebounds—Virginia Tech 34 (Drye 7), Virginia 46 (Mohammed 16). Assists—Virginia Tech 7 (Gordon 4), Virginia 12 (Moorer, Wright 3). Total fouls—Virginia Tech 9, Virginia 19. Technical—Harrison. A—6,564.