Virginia Tops UNCG, 68-50
Dec. 2, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (4-5) picked up a 68-50 victory over UNCG (4-4) on Saturday (Dec. 2) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
The victory was the 900th win in program history, making Virginia the 25th program in NCAA history to reach that milestone.
After a close first period, the Cavaliers outscored UNCG 19-9 in the second quarter, including making their final seven field goal attempts of the half, to take a 37-23 lead into the break. The Spartans cut their deficit to single-digits, 43-34, with 3:34 remaining in the third period, but the Cavaliers went 6-of-9 from the field in the fourth period, including going 3-of-4 from three-point range, to close out the victory.
Redshirt senior guard J’Kyra Brown (Rocky Mount, N.C.) was one of four Cavaliers to finish the game in double figures, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting including going 4-of-4 from three-point range. Sophomore center Felicia Aiyeotan (Lagos, Nigeria) scored eight points with a team-high nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
Nadine Soliman was the lone Spartan to score in double figures, putting up 15 points with four rebounds and four steals.
“I am pleased to come up with a win tonight,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “We’ve got one game left before break, so it’s nice to get a victory under our belt. We have a quick turnaround as tomorrow we travel to Rutgers. We’ll take this one, learn from it, enjoy it and get ready for the Scarlet Knights on Monday evening.”
The Spartans displayed their outside shooting prowess early, taking an 8-7 lead on back-to-back threes in a 37 second span in the first quarter. Brown answered with a trey of her own, giving the Cavaliers a 10-8 lead midway through the quarter. UNCG hit its fourth three of the period with 1:12 remaining to tie the game at 14, but sophomore guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) hit a three-pointer with 24 seconds remaining to put UVA ahead 18-14.
The Cavaliers took advantage of a span of 4:30 in the second quarter in which the Spartans did not hit a field goal to build up a 24-17 lead. UVA mounted an 11-0 run late in the quarter, including back-to-back-to-back threes from Brown and senior guard Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) to take a 35-19 lead. The Cavaliers converted their final seven field goal attempts of the first half and led 37-23 at the break.
The Cavaliers’ shooting cooled off in the third quarter, with the team starting the period going 3-of-8 from the field. The Spartans got hot midway through the period, making five consecutive field goal attempts as well as taking advantage of five Virginia turnovers to cut the deficit to single digits, 43-34, with 3:35 remaining. A layup from senior forward Jae’Lisa Allen (Pine Bluff, Ark.) halted the Spartans run. A three pointer from Toussaint with 37 seconds remaining gave UVA a 50-36 advantage.
Fourth-quarter three-pointers from Huland El and Brown helped the Cavaliers push out to a 59-40 lead with five minutes remaining in the game. The Cavaliers finished strong, making six of their final seven field goal attempts to close out the game.
The Cavaliers shot 56.5 percent (26-of-46), including going 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) from three-point range. UNCG shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) and was 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) in its three-pointing shooting. The Spartans hit four three-pointers in the first quarter and then went 0-of-6 from long range the rest of the game.
UVA held a 35-16 edge in rebounding.
Virginia has one game remaining before taking a break for final exams, playing at Rutgers on Monday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. The Cavaliers’ next home game will be Thursday, Dec. 21 when they host Manhattan 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).