Virginia Hosts Georgia Tech on National Girls & Women in Sports Day

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Date and Time Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, 1 p.m. Location Charlottesville, Va. | John Paul Jones Arena
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Feb. 1, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (14-6, 6-3 ACC) will take on Georgia Tech (9-12, 2-8 ACC) on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Regional Sports Networks and streamed live on ESPN3 in areas outside the ACC footprint.

This will be the second of two regular-season meetings between the teams with Virginia defeating Georgia Tech, 62-51, in Atlanta on Jan. 10.

The Virginia men’s team is also taking on Georgia Tech on Sunday, playing at 3 p.m. in Atlanta. This is the only time this season that the men’s and women’s teams will play the same school on the same day.

The Cavaliers lead the all-time series with the Yellow Jackets, 53-12, and hold a 44-12 record in regular-season ACC contests, but the Ramblin’ Wreck have won three of the last five meetings, including a 68-48 victory in Atlanta in 2011. Virginia is 27-1 against Georgia Tech in Charlottesville, with Georgia Tech’s lone win coming in an 87-70 game in 2001.

Georgia Tech snapped a six-game losing streak Thursday with an 89-82 overtime victory against Wake Forest. Despite going 1-2 in their last three games, the Jackets have had a chance to win all three. The Florida State game on Jan. 25 featured five ties and 14 lead changes with the Seminoles holding on for the 76-71 victory. Against NC State, the Jackets held a 38-32 lead at the half before a second half where they shot 17.6 percent (6-of-34) while the Wolfpack shot 63.3 percent (19-of-30) to come away with the 78-66 victory. Against Wake on Thursday, the game was tied 11 times with 17 lead changes before Georgia Tech took a 12-point lead with three minutes left in overtime, holding on for the seven-point win.

Ataira Franklin (Jr., Bowie, Md.) scored a season-high 23 points in Virginia’s 69-64 victory at Wake Forest last Sunday. Franklin, who has led the team in scoring each of the last three games, is averaging 19.3 points per game and making 52.8 percent of her field goal attempts in that span. She also has six assists with just two turnovers in the last three games.

Kelsey Wolfe (Sr., Germantown, Md.) has scored in double figures each of her last seven games, including a 13-point performance at Wake Forest and a 17-point outing against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Wolfe, who went 3-for-3 from three-point range against Wake, has made a three-pointer in 11 of her last 12 games, including each of the last eight games.

The Cavaliers hit six three-pointers against Wake Forest. The team has now made at least five three-pointers in each of the last six games. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.1 percent from three-point range in ACC contests this season, ranking third in the conference.

The Cavaliers hit key free throws in the final minute of the Wake Forest game to hold off a late rally by the Demon Deacons. The Cavaliers were 23-of-28 (82.1 percent) from the free throw line at Wake Forest, their fifth time this season shooting 80.0 percent or better from the stripe. Virginia is shooting an ACC-leading 72.4 percent from the free throw line in conference games this season.China Crosby (Sr., New York, N.Y.) went 6-for-6 from the line. She has only missed two free throws in her last 13 games (22-of-24) and leads the ACC in free throw shooting percentage in conference games, going 20-for-22 (90.9 percent).

Crosby has scored in double figures in three of her last six games, including 11 points at Wake Forest. She is averaging 8.6 points per game in ACC contests this year. She has made at least one three-pointer in 11 of her last 12 games, including each of her last six games.

Sunday’s game is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a national promotion that focuses attention on the achievements of female athletes and to issues facing girls and women in sport. The event, co-sponsored by the University of Virginia Athletics Department and the University of Virginia Women’s Center, will honor Virginia senior swimmer and Olympic Gold Medalist Lauren Perdue on the court at halftime. In addition to the ceremony, Perdue will also be on hand pregame to sign autographs in the Kids’ Zone, located in the northeast corner of the lower level concourse at John Paul Jones Arena.

Perdue, a native of Greenville, N.C., won gold with the U.S. women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2012 London Olympics. Perdue became the first Virginia female swimmer to medal since Melanie Valerio won gold with the U.S. 4x100m free relay in 1996. In addition to her accomplishments in international competition, Perdue was the 2011 ACC Swimmer of the Year and ACC Swimmer of the Championships. In 2010, she was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and ACC Swimmer of the Championships. She is a 12-time All-American and 17-time ACC champion
 and is the ACC and school record holder in the 100 and 200 freestyle events
 as well as the school record holder in the 50 freestyle.

After the Georgia Tech contest, Virginia will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 8 when it hosts No. 5/4 Duke at 7 p.m. in a game that will be streamed live online on ESPN3. It will be the lone regular-season meeting of the year between the two teams.