Virginia Hosts Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday

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December 20, 2016

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (8-2, 0-0 ACC) hosts Maryland Eastern Shore (6-3, 0-0 MEAC) on Wednesday, December 21 at 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones in Charlottesville, Va.

All of the 2016-17 Virginia women’s basketball games – home and away – are available locally on NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA with Channing Poole calling the action. The game will also stream live online as an ACC Network Extra contest.

The Cavaliers are vying for their fourth-straight victory and have won their last three games by an average margin of victory of 26.7 points. On Monday night, Virginia snapped Georgia’s NCAA-best streak of 61-consecutive home wins against non-conference opponents that dated back to the 2008 season with a 66-43 victory in Athens.

Freshman guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) picked up her second double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Willoughby grabbed six steals against UGA, the most by a Cavalier in a game this season. Willoughby leads the Cavaliers in rebounding, averaging 6.1 per game, ranking her in the top-20 in the ACC and second among the conference rookies. She has 18 rebounds and 17 points in the last two games.

Freshman center Felicia Aiyeotan (Lagos, Nigeria) scored eight points with nine rebounds and two blocked shots at Georgia. In her last three games, she is averaging 11.0 points in 14.7 minutes per game and is a combined 16-of-23 (69.5 percent) from the field. Aiyeotan is tied for the ACC lead in blocked shots per game (2.8) and is second in the ACC in field goal shooting percentage (.667).

Freshman guard Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) has scored in double figures in each of the last three games she has played in, including scoring 13 points at Georgia.

Senior guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) has scored in double figures in each of the last four games. Mason is 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from three-point range in the last four games and ranks second in the ACC in three-point shooting (45.2 percent).

Virginia leads the ACC in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 51.6 points per game. The Cavaliers have outrebounded their opponents in each of the last five games and have forced 20 or more turnovers five times this season including in each of the last three games. UVA has scored a combined 71 points off turnovers in those three games, including scoring 20 off 20 turnovers at Georgia.

In the last three games, Virginia is shooting 49.0 percent from the field (80-of-163) and has shot 50 percent or better in a quarter in eight of those 12 periods, including going 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) in the fourth quarter against UIC and 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) in the first at Georgia.

Maryland Eastern Shore has won four of its last five games, including three in a row. The team played last weekend at the FAU Holiday Classic Tournament in Boca Raton, picking up a 90-82 victory over Saint Francis and a 76-59 win over host Florida Atlantic. Sophomore guard Ciani Byrom was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 17 points-per-game (PPG) on 62 percent (13-of-21) shooting from the floor in the FAU Holiday Classic. In the tournament finale, she registered a season-high 25 points. Byrom and senior guard Mariah McCoy were also selected to the FAU Holiday All-Tournament Team. Byrum leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game. McCoy, who was injured in the first game of the year last year and missed the rest of the season, is second averaging 11.2 points per game.

This will be the second-ever meeting between UVA and MDES, with the Cavaliers picking up an 81-46 victory at JPJ in 2013 in the first meeting between the two. Virginia is 20-0 all-time against MEAC teams, including a 103-40 victory over Coppin State earlier this season.

Virginia will close out the non-conference portion of their schedule when they host the annual Cavalier Classic tournament December 28-29 at John Paul Jones Arena. Liberty and Dayton open the action on Wednesday, playing at 4:30 p.m. before the Cavaliers host UMBC. On Thursday, Liberty and UMBC play at 4:30 p.m. before Virginia and Dayton close out the tournament with a 7 p.m. tip.

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).