No. 15 UVa Faces NC State Sunday on ESPN2

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CHARLOTTESVILLE No. 15 Virginia women’s basketball heads to Raleigh, N.C., for a 3:30 p.m. nationally televised contest against NC State on Sunday. The game will air live on ESPN2 as part of the network’s “February Frenzy” coverage.

February Frenzy will showcase eight regionalized games within two telecast windows for the biggest regular-season day in women’s college basketball at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively. Click on the map above to check your coverage area.

Virginia (19-6, 5-4 ACC) is coming off of a 94-78 loss at No. 9 Maryland Thursday night (Feb. 12) at John Paul Jones Arena.

Aisha Mohammed posted her ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 17 rebounds, while Monica Wright added 12 points and Lyndra Littles contributed 11.

The duo of Littles and Wright is the highest-scoring in the ACC, as Wright leads the league at a 21.5 points per game clip and Littles follows closely, averaging 20.9 points per game. Nationally, Wright’s scoring average ranks her ninth.

Mohammed, Virginia’s senior center, is the third Cavalier with a points per game average in double digits. She averages 12.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Her rebounding average is tops in the ACC.

The Cavalier freshmen have also come on strong in the second portion of the conference slate, as Britny Edwards, Whitny Edwards, Ariana Moorer and Chelsea Shine have all seen key minutes and made solid contributions.

Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan is in her 32nd year on the sidelines. The Class of 2008 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee has posted a 694-294 career record with the Cavaliers.

NC State (10-14, 2-7 ACC) is led by Shayla Fields (17.9 ppg), Sharnise Beal (11.5 ppg) and Nikitta Gartrell (10.5 ppg). The Wolfpack most recently defeated Wake Forest (Feb. 12) at home, 59-51.

Virginia leads the all-time series with NC State, 34-29, including a 74-49 victory on Feb. 1, 2008 at John Paul Jones Arena last season. Prior to that Cavalier win, NC State had won four-straight in the series. The last UVa win in Raleigh came on Jan. 15, 2004 66-62.

Sunday’s game is NC State’s annual Hoops For Hope fundraiser, a breast cancer awareness event. It is the first advance sell-out in the history of NC State women’s basketball.

Up next for Virginia is a home contest against Miami on Thursday, Feb. 19. Tip-off from John Paul Jones Arena is 7 p.m.