Virginia Tops Pitt, 66-55

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (13-15, 8-9 ACC) picked up its fifth-straight home win in a 66-55 victory over Pittsburgh (4-24, 1-16 ACC) on Thursday (Feb. 27) at John Paul Jones Arena.
 
Pitt jumped out to a 9-2 advantage, but the Cavaliers answered with a 14-1 run to take the lead. Virginia built up a 12-point lead in the third quarter, but the Panthers rallied to make it a three-point game with 5:24 remaining. UVA closed out the contest on a 10-2 run to secure the victory.
 
Senior guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) was one of three Cavaliers to finish with double-digit points, leading the squad with 20 points. Freshman guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (Camden, Del.) had 12 rebounds to lead the defensive efforts. Dayshanette Harris led Pitt with a 19-point performance.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pitt made its first three field goal attempts of the game and took an early 9-2 lead, but the Cavaliers clawed back, with a layup from freshman guard Carole Miller (Alexandria, Va.) giving UVA its first lead of the game, 11-10, with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter. A three-pointer from Willoughby followed by a pair of free throws made it a 14-1 run and a 16-10 game. Pitt narrowed the gap back to two at the end of the first quarter and pulled to within one, 24-23, early in the second, but a shot-clock beating three by senior forward Lisa Jablonowski (Ernster, Luxembourg) kept the Cavaliers in the lead. Pitt suffered a scoring drought in the second period, not making a field goal for the final 8:16 and being held completely scoreless for the final 4:59 as Virginia edged out to a 35-27 lead at the break.
 
Back-to-back layups from Miller gave UVA its first double-digit lead of the game. After the Cavaliers extended the advantage to 12 points, Harris hit back-to-back three-pointers in a 32 second span to halve the deficit. The Cavaliers held a 50-44 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Virginia opened the period with six straight points, including a three from redshirt freshman guard Amandine Toi (Paris, France), but Pitt countered with back-to-back threes in a 50 seconds span and then added a third trey to make it a 56-53 game. Kornegay-Lucas halted the run by forcing her way through traffic to make a layup and extend UVA’s advantage to 58-53. Another layup from Kornegay-Lucas gave UVA a 62-55 advantage heading into the final two minutes of play. Virginia added another four points in the final minute and a half to close out the victory.
 
FROM HEAD COACH TINA THOMPSON
“I’m really excited about the win. It’s a joyous occasion anytime you get a win in the ACC, but I’m not so excited about how we started. I’m a little disappointed in how we started the game coming off the game that we played at Virginia Tech. I know that my girls can play a lot better and be a lot more efficient than we were, but because we are who we are; we fight, we push, we play from start to finish whether we’re doing the right things or not, we were able to put ourselves in a position to win. Again, I’m really happy about the win, but we need to go back and work on some things.”
 
NOTES

• The Cavaliers shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) while Pitt shot 34.0 percent (18-of-53)
• Virginia held a 42-35 edge in rebounding
• Virginia outscored Pitt 30-12 in the paint
• Lisa Jablonowski was one point shy of matching her season high, scoring 15 points. She also had seven rebounds
• Jocelyn Willoughby had her ACC-leading 14^th 20-point game of the season
• Willoughby also grabbed eight rebounds and dished a team-high four assists
• Carole Miller scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting
• Kylie Kornegay-Lucas’ 12 rebounds matched her season high

 
ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia will close out the regular season by hosting No. 8 NC State on Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m.
• Sunday’s game will include a pregame Senior Day ceremony honoring Felicia Aiyeotan, Lisa Jablonowski, Dominique Toussaint and Jocelyn Willoughby  

 
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
• Ticket packages for the 2020 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, being held March 4-8 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., are on sale now through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office