Virginia Holds on for a 66-62 Victory over Hampton
Nov. 21, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (2-3) picked up a 66-62 victory over Hampton (1-2) on Tuesday (Nov. 21) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
Virginia led by 15 points in the first half, but the Lady Pirates used their long-range shooting to chip away at the deficit, pulling to within four in the final two minutes, but the Cavaliers’ defense held on for the victory.
Hampton went 11-of-28 from three-point range (39.3 percent), but shot just 34.4 percent overall (21-of-61). Virginia shot 50.0 percent overall from the floor, going 26-of-52, and was 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range.
“I’m obviously happy to get the win,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “We’ve had a little bit of a rough start, so it is nice to come out at home and get a win. We obviously still have things to work on and we are trying to find our chemistry. We’ve been struggling on the offensive end of the floor and I felt that tonight we really shared the basketball and made some things happen. Attention to detail, discipline and other places where we had breakdowns tonight, they could have cost us, so there are things we definitely need to clean up moving forward.”
Sophomore guards Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) and Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) again led the team in scoring with Willoughby contributing 15 points, going 6-of-9 from the field, and Toussaint scoring 14 with six assists.
Hampton’s Monnazjea Finney-Smith scored 17 points, including making five threes, with a team-high nine rebounds.
Hampton scored its first nine points on three three-pointers, taking an early 9-7 lead. Virginia countered with a 6-0 run to go up 13-9. After the Lady Pirates tied the game at 13, senior guard Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the quarter to put Virginia up 16-13. The Cavaliers forced six Hampton turnovers in the quarter, scoring eight points off the miscues.
Hampton scored the first bucket of the second quarter, a layup by Allina Starr 24 seconds into the frame, but the following six-and-a-half minutes were all Virginia as the Cavaliers went on a 17-2 run that included treys from Huland El and Willoughby. The Cavaliers extended the lead to 36-21 on a three-pointer from senior guard J’Kyra Brown (Rocky Mount, N.C.) with 1:48 remaining in the half, but the Lady pirates scored the final five points of the half to go into the break trailing by 10, 36-26.
Finney-Smith hit two threes to start the second half, cutting UVA’s lead to 38-32, but a layup from senior forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) with 7:42 remaining in the quarter temporarily swung the momentum back in the Cavaliers’ favor. Hampton continued with long-range shooting, with another pair of threes making it a five-point game, 46-41, with just under five minutes remaining. A layup after an offensive rebound from Ashley Bates cut UVA’s lead to three, but a layup from sophomore center Felicia Aiyeotan (Lagos, Nigeria) halted the Pirates’ run.
Virginia took a 52-48 lead into the fourth quarter. Toussaint scored the first seven points of the period, with a pair of layups and a three, to push the Virginia advantage to 59-48. Hampton kept shooting with Finney-Smith banking in a three with 1:35 remaining to cut Virginia’s lead to four, 63-59. Brown hit a three-pointer with 21.2 seconds remaining to give UVA a 66-59 edge. K’lynn Willis hit Hampton’s 11th three of the game with 17 seconds remaining. Starr stole the ball away, giving the Pirates the final possession of the game, but Virginia’s defense held on for the victory.
Hampton had a 40-32 edge in rebounding.
The Cavalier Classic Tournament will take place this coming weekend with Duquesne, Harvard and North Carolina A&T set to compete. There will be two games on Saturday, Nov. 25, beginning with Virginia against Harvard at 2 p.m. followed by Duquesne and NC A&T at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 26, Harvard and NC A&T start the action at 2 p.m. followed by Virginia and Duquesne at 4:30 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).