Virginia Travels To No. 7 Duke For ACC Opener
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia travels to Durham, N.C., on Monday (Jan. 2) to face the Duke Blue Devils in its first Atlantic Coast Conference contest of the season. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and will be broadcast over the airwaves on WINA 1070 AM in the Charlottesville area. That broadcast, along with live statistics, can be accessed at VirginiaSports.com. There is a subscription-based webcast available.
At 12-2, Virginia is off to its best start since the 2008-09 squad opened the season with a 14-2 record. With a 7-0 record in the month of December, Virginia completed the month with an unblemished record for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Since 1977, Virginia is 22-12 in all-time ACC openers. Last season, UVa dropped its first league contest of the year, 82-73, vs. Miami at home. Virginia has faced Duke six times in its first ACC contest of the year (1977, 1983, 1989, 1991, 1999 and 2001) and holds a 4-2 record in those contests. The last ACC opening game for Virginia vs. Duke was Dec. 6, 2001 in Charlottesville (Duke 107, UVa 73).
Virginia leads the all-time series with Duke, 32-30, but the Blue Devils have won 18-consecutive contests in the series that dates back to 1977. In games played in Durham, the Blue Devils hold a 15-14 advantage. Last season, Duke prevailed 71-48 at John Paul Jones Arena on Feb. 24. The last UVa victory in the series was on Jan. 30, 2000 (61-49 at U-Hall in Charlottesville). The last UVa victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium was on Feb. 19, 1997 (86-56).
Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle is a 1985 graduate of Duke University and was an assistant coach there under Gail Goestenkors from 1993-2002. While an assistant coach at Duke, Boyle and the Blue Devils posted a 12-8 record vs. UVa. While a player at Duke (1981-85), Boyle played on Duke teams that were 2-5 vs. Virginia. This is the first time she will face her alma mater as a head coach.
The Blue Devils are off to a 9-2 start and are coming off of a 65-54 victory at Temple on Dec. 30. Freshman Elizabeth Williams leads Duke in scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg). Head coach Joanne P. McCallie is in her fifth season.
ACC play continues for Virginia on Thursday (Jan. 5) when the Cavaliers host North Carolina.