Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site
Open Search
Women's Basketball
Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site
. Women's Basketball

Virginia Falls 72-44 to No. 6 Mississippi State in Season Opener

Post Game Quotes | Box Score | Boxscore

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (0-1) dropped its season opener, 72-44, to No. 6 Mississippi State (2-0) on Friday night (Nov. 9) at John Paul Jones Arena.
 
Virginia shot 26.2 percent (16-of-61) while Mississippi State went 29-of-66 (43.9 percent). Junior guard Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) matched her career high with 19 points to lead all scorers. Junior center Felicia Aiyeotan (Lagos, Nigeria) grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds and also blocking four shots. Virginia held a 44-41 edge in rebounding.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mississippi State started the game on an 11-0 run, extending it out to 18-2 to take control of the game. The Bulldogs started the second half on a 16-0 run to take a 45-17 advantage into halftime. Virginia cut a once-30-point lead down by mounting an 8-0 run in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs went on a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter to regain a 30-point advantage.

NOTES

  • Virginia outscored Mississippi State 18-10 in the third quarter, shooting 43.8 percent in the period (7-of-16).
  • The two teams scored 27 points apiece in the second half
  • Toussaint’s 19-point performance matched her total from a Feb. 12, 2017 contest against Wake Forest. Toussaint scored 17 points last season against Mississippi State
  • Freshman guard Erica Martinsen (Clarence, N.Y.) made her collegiate debut, checking in with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, and scored her first career points, knocking down a three with 3:27 remaining in that period
  • Aiyeotan’s previous career high for rebounds was 14 against Ohio on Dec. 17, 2017
  • This was Tina Thompson’s head coaching debut
  • Sophomore guard Khyasia Caldwell (Pocono Summit, Pa.) made her first career start. Caldwell appeared in 14 games last season, averaging 2.6 minutes per game
  • Senior Moné Jones (Durham, N.C.) made her first start since her freshman season, and just the second of her career
  • Toussaint scored the first points of the season for the Cavaliers on a layup 4:42 into the game
  • Prior to the game, it was announced that Amandine Toi (Paris, France) will miss the 2018-19 season as she will have surgery on her right knee after sustaining an injury during practice

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers will play a pair of road games at Kentucky (Nov. 15) and at Old Dominion (Nov. 19) before next returning home for the Field Trip Day on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 11 a.m., when UVA hosts North Carolina A&T.
 
 
 

Related Stories