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Virginia Falls 73-62 to No. 11 UCLA

Post Game Press Conference | Box Score | Postgame Quotes | Boxscore

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (4-4) came up short against No. 11 UCLA (7-0) on Sunday (Dec. 1), falling 73-62 in the final game of the Cavalier Classic tournament, presented by DoubleTree by Hilton Charlottesville, which was being held at John Paul Jones Arena.
 
Senior guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) finished the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Senior guard Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored 16 points. Michaela Onyenwere was one of two Bruins to log a double-double, scoring 27 points with 11 rebounds.
 
Virginia used nine points from Toussaint in the first quarter to hold a 17-13 lead, but UCLA went on a 14-2 run in the second period to build  up a 12-point lead. Willoughby scored the final six points of the half to pull the Cavaliers to within five, 35-30, at the break. Virginia tied the game, 46-46, with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter, but the Bruins scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to build back up a double-digit advantage and held on for the victory. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cavaliers started the game hot, mounting an 11-0 run in the first quarter, going 6-of-8 from the field during their charge, to take a 15-9 lead on a fast-break layup from freshman guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (Camden, Del.) with 1:25 remaining in the quarter. Japreece Dean hit a jumper with 3.2 seconds left in the period to cut the Bruins’ deficit to 17-13 heading into the second period. UCLA scored the first eight points of the second period, with a hook shot from freshman guard Carole Miller (Alexandria, Va.) temporarily halting the rally. The Bruins added six more points to make it a 14-2 run to start the period and build up a 27-19 lead. UCLA lead by a dozen, 35-23, until a layup from Willoughby with 1:37 remaining in the half began a Virginia run. Willoughby added another layup and three free throws, including converting two with 0.3 seconds remaining, to make it a five-point game, 35-30, at the break.
 
The two teams traded buckets to start the third quarter until a three-pointer from Toussaint followed by a steal and a fast-break layup from Kornegay-Lucas tied the game at 46 with 4:22 remaining in the period. The Bruins converted back-to-back field goal attempts and then built up a six-point lead until a three-pointer from senior forward Lisa Jablonowski (Ernster, Luxembourg) cut the deficit in half, 55-52, heading into the fourth period. The Bruins scored the first nine points of the final period to push their advantage back out to double digits, 64-52. A layup from Willoughby halted a 14-2 Bruin run with 4:48 left in the game. Despite not making a field goal for the final 5:53 of the game (going 0-of-7 from the field in that stretch), the Bruins held on for the victory.
 
 
FROM HEAD COACH TINA THOMPSON
“I’m really proud of our kids. We had back-to-back games where we played tough and played a whole bunch of minutes in a very short period of time. The consistent thing about who we are and what we do is that we continue to fight, so I appreciate that. We can do a lot better in our execution and finishing plays, but our effort is pretty consistent. It’s a good feeling for a coach when you don’t have to coach effort and that it’s the basketball things that you have to coach and it’s something that you can fix in practice. It would be a different story if we didn’t work. Our work ethic shows every time we go out and compete, so I’m really proud of that. Of course, a loss doesn’t feel good, but I am proud of our effort.”
 

NOTES

  • This was Willoughby’s third 20-point game of the season. She averaged 25.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg in the two games of the Cavalier Classic
  • Toussaint was 6-of-8 from the field. Willoughby was 7-of-15 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line
  • Virginia shot 43.1 percent going 22-of-51. UCLA shot 38.8 percent, going 26-of-67
  • UCLA held a 42-32 edge in rebounding
  • The Bruins scored 28 second-chance points on 19 offensive rebounds. UVA only had one second chance point and nine O-boards

 
ON THE HORIZON

  • Virginia will go on the road to take on Rutgers (6-1) on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 pm in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, before breaking for exams
  • Virginia will not play at home again until Thursday, January 2, when it hosts North Carolina at 7 p.m.

 
TICKET INFORMATION

  • Reserved single-game tickets are $8 if purchased in advance or online and $10 if purchased at the JPJ Box Office. General admission tickets are $5 if purchased in advance or online and $8 if purchased at the JPJ Box Office. Single-game courtside tickets may be purchased for $15
  • For more information or to purchase tickets, fans should contact the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821). Fans can also purchase tickets online at VirginiaSports.com or in-person at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium

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