Virginia Dominates Clemson, 69-37
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Box Score Jan. 19, 2017
CLEMSON, S.C. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (13-5, 2-3 ACC) picked up a 69-37 victory at Clemson (11-8, 0-6 ACC) on Thursday (Jan. 19) at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C.
The Cavaliers led by just six points, 29-23, at halftime, but dominated the second half, outscoring the Tigers 40-14 after the break. The UVA defense kept Clemson from making a field goal in the final 12:41 of the game.
“We converted tonight,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “We made our layups and converted so that was a welcome plus. We challenged them on the boards and then moved the ball to get ourselves better chances for offensive rebounds. We shot the ball well in this game, got more offensive rebounds, more stops and limited their second-chance points.”
Freshman guard Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) and junior forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) each scored 16 points. Moses was 7-of-10 shooting, also grabbing five rebounds.
Jaia Alexander led the Tigers with 11 points. Kobi Thornton scored 10 points with six rebounds.
Clemson outrebounded the Cavaliers 22-12 in the first half but were outrebounded 22-8 after the break. UVA forced 18 turnovers, scoring 24 points off the miscues. Virginia only turned the ball over seven times with Clemson scoring just four points off turnovers.
Toussaint scored Virginia’s first six points and finished the first quarter with eight, helping the Cavaliers build up a 16-7 lead. Alexander ended a Clemson scoring drought of 4:43 spanning the end of the first quarter through the first 1:07 of the second with a jumper, but Moses responded, scoring the next five points, capped by an and-one that gave UVA a 21-9 lead with seven minutes left in the second quarter. After Clemson narrowed the gap to six, the Cavaliers pushed their advantage back out to double-digits with back-to-back steals and fastbreak layups from Toussaint and senior guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) with Mason grabbing the first steal to set up Toussaint and the roles reversing on the second. A three from Alexander with just under two minutes remaining in the half and a buzzer-beater at the break cut the deficit back to six, 29-23, at halftime. Alexander and Thornton combined to score 13 of Clemson’s 16 points in the second period.
After trading baskets to start the second half, Virginia extended its lead back to double-digits, 37-27, after an and-one from Moses followed by a three from freshman Jocelyn Willouhgby (East Orange, N.J.) in a 44-second span. The Cavaliers outscored the Tigers 18-12 in the period to take a 47-35 lead into the final period.
The Cavaliers started the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run. The Tigers only took one shot in the first five minutes of the period, turning the ball over four times. Clemson went 0-for-7 in the final five minutes, with the Cavaliers outscoring the Tigers 22-2 in the quarter.
Virginia plays at Pittsburgh on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 12:30 p.m. before returning to John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday, Jan. 26 to host Virginia Tech with that game tipping off at 7 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).