Virginia Plays at JMU in WNIT Second-Round

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March 18, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (20-12) will play at James Madison (25-8) on Sunday, March 19 at 2 p.m. in the second round of the 2017 Women’s National Invitation Tournament at JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Va.

All of the 2016-17 Virginia women’s basketball games – home and away – are available locally on the radio on NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA with Luke Neer providing the play-by-play. The game will also stream live online on JMUSports.com.

Virginia is making its third-straight and eighth overall appearance in the WNIT. The Cavaliers earned the ACC’s automatic bid, one of four teams from the conference playing in the tournament. James Madison, the automatic qualifier from the Colonial Athletic Association, is making its first WNIT appearance since 2013 and seventh overall.

The Cavaliers are 15-8 all-time against JMU, including a loss in the quarterfinals of the 2012 WNIT. Virginia is 2-4 in the last six meetings with the Dukes (dating back to the 2009-10 season).

Virginia is coming off a 62-56 victory at Saint Joseph’s on Friday night in Philadelphia. Freshman guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) scored a career-high 25 points in the game, becoming the first Cavalier to have two 20-point games this season. Willoughby and junior guard J’Kyra Brown (Rocky Mount, N.C.) each scored nine points in the fourth quarter, accounting for 18 of UVA’s 19 points in the period. Saint Joseph’s held a three-point lead with 7:03 remaining, but the Cavaliers outscored the Hawks 15-6 in the remainder of the contest to advance to the second round.

James Madison opened the WNIT with an 80-59 victory over Radford. The Dukes held the Highlanders without a field goal for a 13:05 span in the second half, including the final 8:09 of the third quarter. In the third frame, JMU limited Radford to 9.1-percent shooting while the Dukes sank 62.5 percent of their shot attempts. The Dukes won the turnover battle 17-9 and the off-turnover points battle 14-4.

JMU’s redshirt senior guard Precious Hall was named the 2017 CAA Player of the Year, her second-straight CAA POY honor, and freshman guard Kamiah Smalls was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year. Hall averaged 23.3 points per game during the regular season, ranking fifth nationally, and is JMU’s all-time scoring leader with 2,283 points. The unanimous selection for CAA Rookie of the Year, Smalls led all league freshmen in scoring at 9.6 points per contest and scored in double figures 13 times as she shot 52.0 percent from the floor. The guard also pulled down 5.5 rebounds per contest, the highest mark among first-year players in the CAA, and 1.67 assists per game, the third-highest mark amongst CAA freshmen.

The winner of UVA/JMU will face the winner of Villanova/Drexel in a third-round game with date, time and location still to be determined.

Tickets will be available at the James Madison box office on day of game or available to purchase online now. Tickets will cost $15 for reserved seats, $12 for general admission and $10 for youth and seniors.

Second round games will be held March 18-21. The third round is slated for March 22-24 with quarterfinals running March 25-27, and semifinals March 29-30. The WNIT Championship Game will be played at 3 p.m. on April 1 and be televised by the CBS Sports Network.