Three-Point Shooting Boosts Virginia Over Boston College, 68-56
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Jan. 15, 2015
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (13-4, 3-1 ACC) earned a 68-56 victory over Boston College (8-9, 0-4 ACC) on Thursday (Jan. 15) at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers hit 13 three-pointers, including going 10-of-16 from long range in the first half, while limiting the Eagles to just three long-range baskets. Virginia shot just 36.1 percent overall in the game (22-of-61), but made 50.0 percent of its three-point attempts (13-of-26).
Junior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) had her second-straight 20-point game, scoring 23 points, including going 4-of-6 from three-point range, with six rebounds. Sophomore guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) scored 12 points, going 4-of-5 from three-point range, with seven assists and two steals. Senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) had her eighth double-double of the season, with 11 rebounds while scoring all 10 of her points in the second half.
Kelly Hughes led Boston College with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“I’m just happy to get a home win,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “Our press did a good job and we moved the ball better offensively and shot really well. Faith [Randolph] made a great shot at the end of the half. After halftime, I felt as though it loosened up a bit and Sarah [Imovbioh] got a couple of and-ones for us. We tried to put her in a different position in the second half to get her more touches. The more we go with an inside-outside game, the better I think our offense will be.”
The Eagles started the game making 10 of their first 17 shots, jumping out to a 21-13 lead with 8:42 left in the first half. Virginia still trailed by eight with six minutes left before halftime until back-to-back three-pointers from freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) and senior forward Sarah Beth Barnette (Lexington, Ky.) cut the deficit to two, 27-25. Virginia completed the comeback and took its first lead of the game on a three-pointer by Randolph with 2:34 remaining before the break. Randolph hit her third three of the game with three seconds remaining in the half to send Virginia into the break with a 38-33 lead.
After BC and Virginia combined to go 2-of-14 to start the second half, Venson got a steal that led to another three by Randolph that ignited the Cavalier offense. A put-back by sophomore forward Sydney Umeri (Acworth, Ga.) gave UVa its first double-digit lead, 48-37, with 13:36 remaining. A layup by Hughes cut the Virginia lead down to five, 48-43, with 11 minutes remaining, but Mason answered with a three on the other end. After BC stole a Virginia inbounds pass, Hughes hit a three-pointer with five minutes left in the game to make it a 61-54 game, but an and-one from Imovbioh put the Cavaliers back up by double-digits. BC intensified its ball pressure in the final four minutes, forcing three Cavalier turnovers, but the Eagles failed to get the deficit back into single digits.
Virginia held a 38-35 edge in rebounding. Boston College blocked eight shots while the Cavaliers blocked four.
The Cavaliers had 16 assists, including the seven by Mason, on 22 field goals.
Virginia’s 13 three-pointers was one make shy of tying the program record for made-threes in a game. UVa went 14-of-24 from three-point range in a 2008 game against Rider. It was the third time this season that UVa made 10 or more three-pointers in a game.
Next up, the Cavaliers will play back-to-back road games against the only two teams that are still undefeated in ACC play, beginning with a Sunday, Jan. 18 game at No. 4 Louisville followed by a trip to Miami on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The Louisville game, which tips off at 3 p.m., will be broadcast on the ACC Regional Sports Networks and stream online on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Virginia will be back at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday, Jan. 25, hosting Georgia Tech at 2 p.m.
Single-game ticket prices for all home games are $10 for Reserved seating, $8 for adult General Admission and $6 for youth (18 & under), senior (60 & over) and UVa faculty/staff General Admission. Fans may purchase home game tickets through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone and in person. The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).