Virginia Plays at North Carolina on Sunday

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Jan. 7, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (11-4, 0-2 ACC) plays at North Carolina (11-4, 0-2 ACC) on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.

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 providing the play-by-play. The game will also stream live online as an ACC Network Extra contest.

After winning six-straight games to close out the non-conference schedule, UVA has dropped back-to-back games against top-25 opponents to open the ACC season, including Thursday’s 86-81 overtime loss against No. 8 Louisville. The Cavaliers led by 15 points with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter, but needed a buzzer-beating three from freshman guard Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) to force overtime against the Cardinals.

Virginia went 9-of-18 (50.0 percent) from three-point range against Louisville, its best three-point shooting performance since going 6-of-9 from long range in the 2016 ACC opener against Miami. The Cavaliers scored 81 points against Louisville, only the third time since the start of the 2014-15 season that an opponent has scored more than 80 points in a game against the Cardinals.

Junior guard Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) scored a career-high 23 points while grabbing a season-high eight rebounds against Louisville. In the last two games, Huland El is shooting 63.2 percent (12-of-19). Huland El went 3-of-7 from three-point range against the Cardinals, her first made three-pointers since going 4-of-6 against UIC (Dec. 16), snapping a five-game 0-of-14 skid.

Senior guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) is 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) from three-point range in the last two games. Mason is third in the ACC in three-point shooting percentage at 44.2 percent.

The Cavaliers lead the ACC and are ranked ninth in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 52.8 points per game. Virginia is second in the ACC in opponent field goal shooting percentage (33.6 percent), ranking 12th in the nation. The Cavaliers are also second in the ACC in opponent three-point shooting percentage (26.3 percent). In the last four games, opponents are shooting 20.9 percent (22-of-105) from beyond the arc.

North Carolina opened ACC play with a 76-68 loss at Virginia Tech followed by a 90-77 home loss against No. 6 Florida State. UNC is second-to-last in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score 63.9 points per game.

Sophomore Stephanie Watts is second in the ACC in scoring, averaging 19.6 points per game and sixth in rebounding at 8.7 per game. Watts is averaging a conference-best 3.8 made-threes per game and is fourth in blocked shots at 1.5 per game. Fellow sophomore Destinee Walker is averaging 12.8 points per game. Another sophomore, Paris Kea, is fifth in the ACC with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. Kea is averaging 2.3 steals per game while Watts grabs 2.1 per game.

North Carolina leads the all-time series 50-33 and is 22-12 against the Cavaliers in Chapel Hill. Virginia has won three times in the last 25 meetings (dating back to 2002), including a 72-68 victory last year at John Paul Jones Arena. All three of those victories have been in Charlottesville. Virginia’s last victory at UNC came on January 11, 2001 when UVA downed the Tar Heels 78-76.

Virginia will be back at home on Sunday, Jan. 15, hosting Boston College (8-6, 1-0 ACC) at 2 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.

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).