Virginia Hosts No. 2 Notre Dame on Sunday
Story Links
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-0, 2-0 ACC) vs. Virginia Cavaliers (8-7, 1-1 ACC) |
Date and Time Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014, 2 p.m. Location Charlottesville, Va. | John Paul Jones Arena
Media GameTracker | Listen Live | Live Streaming Video – Game ($) | Live Streaming Video – Post Game Press Conference ($) Additional Information Ticket Information | Game Notes(.pdf) | 2013-14 Season Stats | ExperienceUVaWomensBasketball | 2013-14 Record Book (.pdf)
Social Media @UVaWBBHoops Twitter | Facebook | VirginiaWBB Instagram
Jan. 11, 2014
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (8-7, 1-1 ACC) hosts No. 2 Notre Dame (14-0, 2-0 ACC) on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.
The game will be broadcast live on WINA- 1070 AM with Channing Poole, Larry Johnson and Myron Ripley calling the action.
Virginia is 2-0 in the meetings between the two teams. This will be the first meeting between the Cavaliers and the Fighting Irish since Virginia earned a 79-59 victory in Charlottesville on Jan. 4, 1988. The two teams also played in a neutral-site game in Chicago on Feb. 22, 1981 when UVa won 68-40.
Both teams come into the contest after winning their Thursday night games. Notre Dame handed Boston College its most-lopsided loss of the season, defeating the Eagles 95-53. It was the 37th-consecutive regular-season win for the Irish as well as their fifth 40-point win of the season. Notre Dame’s bench scored 55 points in the game while the entire squad combined to shoot 61.7 percent (37-of-60), making 8-of-12 three-point attempts.
Notre Dame is currently one of four unbeaten teams remaining this season with the others being Connecticut (16-0), Iowa State (14-0) and Indiana (14-0).
Virginia earned a 67-60 victory at Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers started the game trailing 20-3 before coming back to log their first conference win of the season. Virginia, trailing by two points with two minutes remaining in the game, scored nine points in the final 1:42 of the game, including seven from senior guard Ataira Franklin (Bowie, Md.). Franklin ended the game with 23 points, making her the fourth different Cavalier in the last three games to score more than 20 points in a contest. In Virginia’s two ACC games, Franklin is averaging 17.0 ppg, making 4-of-9 three-point attempts. Franklin has scored in double-digits in six of the last seven games. Franklin has made at least one three-pointer in each of the last eight games.
Redshirt senior guard Lexie Gerson (Fort Washington, Pa.) had four assists against the Hokies, including setting up Virginia’s final three buckets. Gerson, who had five rebounds at Virginia Tech, is now second on the team in rebounding with 4.6 per game. In the last seven games, she is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game after averaging 3.1 rebounds per game in the first eight games.
Sophomore guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) had her third-consecutive double-digit point effort, scoring 10 against Virginia Tech. In the last three games, Randolph is coming off the bench to average 14.6 points while going 17-of-32 from the field (53.1 percent).
Senior guard Kelsey Wolfe (Germantown, Md.) scored 12 points against Virginia Tech, her fourth double-digit scoring effort in the last five games. Wolfe is averaging 15.6 ppg in her last five contests including going 21-of-23 from the free throw line in that span. Wolfe currently ranks fourth in the ACC in free throw shooting efficiency, making 87.0 percent of her shots. Wolfe has made 13 of her last 24 three-point attempts over a span of five games and has made at least one three-pointer in each of the last six games.
The Cavaliers forced 22 Virginia Tech turnovers, scoring 25 points off those turnovers. In the second half, Virginia scored 21 of its 42 points off Virginia Tech turnovers.
The Cavaliers have won five of their last seven games, averaging 74.1 points per game. In the first eight games of the year, Virginia scored 62.4 points per game.
Virginia has forced at least 20 turnovers in each of the last four games but has only committed 13 or fewer turnovers in three of the last five games.
The Cavaliers are 0-1 this season against top-25 teams with a 76-67 loss to No. 3 Tennessee. The last time Virginia defeated a top-25 team was last year’s regular season in which it upset No. 24 Florida State, 72-60. The last time Virginia defeated a top-10 team was Nov. 21, 2011 when it pulled off the 69-64 overtime victory over No. 8 Tennessee. Virginia has one upset over a No. 2 team, defeating Louisiana Tech 77-66 on Dec. 20, 1986. All three of those upsets happened in Charlottesville.
Beginning with Notre Dame, the Cavaliers will play four straight games against ranked opponents including taking on three squads currently ranked in the top-10. The Cavaliers travel to No. 3 Duke on Jan 16 before returning to John Paul Jones Arena to host No. 18 Florida State (Jan. 19) and No. 6 Maryland (Jan. 23).