Virginia Opens 2017-18 Season at No. 7 Mississippi State
| Virginia Cavaliers at No. 7 Mississippi State Bulldogs | |
| Date and Time | Friday, November 10, 9 p.m. |
| Location | Starkville, Miss. | Humphrey Coliseum |
| Media | TV: SEC Network ESPN3/WatchESPN | Listen Live | Live Stats |
| Additional Information | Ticket Information | JPJ Clear Bag Policy | Game Notes (.pdf) | 2016-17 Season Stats | 2017-18 Fact Book (.pdf) |
| Social Media | @UVAWBBHoops Twitter | Facebook | VirginiaWBB Instagram |
Nov. 9, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team opens the 2017-18 season by playing at No. 7 Mississippi State on Friday, Nov. 10 in Starkville, Miss. The game will tip at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and is being televised on the SEC Network.
All of the 2017-18 Virginia women’s basketball games – home and away – are available locally on the radio on NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA. The game will also stream live online on ESPN3/WatchESPN.
The Cavaliers are receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today Coaches’ polls. Mississippi State is ranked No. 7 in the AP poll and fourth in the USA Today Coaches’ poll, and has been ranked in the top-10 for 20-straight weeks.
The Cavaliers return all but one player from last year’s team, a 20-win squad that just missed the NCAA Tournament as one of the last out of the field of 64. The Cavaliers were the ACC’s automatic qualifier for the WNIT. Virginia has been predicted to finish sixth in the official 2017-18 Blue Ribbon Panel ACC Preseason Poll and fifth in a polling of the league’s head coaches.
Virginia had a pair of freshman earn All-ACC honors last year, the first time UVA had ever had two players earn All-Freshman honors in the same season and only the eighth time that any team has had two freshmen on the team. Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) and Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) will look to make an even bigger impact in their sophomore season. Willoughby, who was also voted to the All-ACC Academic Team, was second among ACC freshmen in scoring (9.8 points per game) and rebounding (6.2 per game) and led the conference rookies in steals per game (1.7 per game). She was also UVA’s leading rebounder, the first freshman to lead the squad since Brandi Teamer in 2002. Toussaint was third among ACC freshmen in points per game (9.5).
Senior forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) has been a member of UVA’s starting lineup since the first game of her collegiate career. Moses comes into the season with 825 career points and is on track to become the 33rd member of Virginia’s 1,000 point club. She also starts the season with 600 career rebounds, with a chance to finish in the top-10 in program history in that statistic.
Mississippi State is coming off a historic season that saw the Bulldogs win a school-record 34 games en route to advancing to the national championship game in the program’s first Final Four appearance.
The Bulldogs return nine letterwinners from that team, including Preseason All-SEC picks Victoria Vivians, Morgan William and Teaira McCowan.
This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
The Cavaliers will host Central Connecticut State on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. in UVA’s home opener.
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).