Virginia Returns to JPJ to Host No. 19 Notre Dame

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Coming off a two-game road stint, Virginia (8-8, 0-5 ACC) returns to John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday (Jan. 18) to host No. 19 Notre Dame (12-3, 3-2 ACC). Tipoff from John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and 98.9-FM/1070-AM WINA.

FOR OPENERS

• The Cavaliers are in search of their first ACC win of the season and hope to snap a five-game losing skid.
• Camryn Taylor has led Virginia in scoring in its last five games, all of which have been in league play. Taylor is averaging 18.2 points per game in ACC action, good for eighth in the conference.
• 19 Notre Dame went 2-0 in ACC play last week with a pair of home wins over Boston College [98-49] and Miami [70-59].
• The Fighting Irish have one of the nation’s top freshmen in Hannah Hidalgo, who is No. 3 in the nation and leads the ACC in scoring (24.20/game) and leads the country in steals (5.67/game).

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Zealand Shannon (play-by-play) and Lauren Moses (analyst) will have the call on ACCNX, which will also be streamed online via ESPN.com/watch.
• The game will also be broadcast on 98.9-FM/1070-AM WINA, VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports mobile app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports mobile app.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Fighting Irish lead the all-time series, 10-3, and are 3-2 against the Hoos in Charlottesville.
• The two teams met only twice (1980-81 & 1987-88) prior to Notre Dame joining the ACC in 2013.
• The last time the two teams played in John Paul Jones Arena, which was on Jan. 26, 2020, the Cavaliers snapped nine-game skid in the series after posting a dominant 90-60 victory.
• A member of the Fighting Irish at the time, Sam Brunelle scored a team-high 21 points.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE HOOS & NOTRE DAME

• Then-No. 7 Notre Dame won last year’s meeting at Purcell Pavilion, 76-54, in what was UVA’s third consecutive road contest against a top-10 foe.
• The Irish scored 14 unanswered points in the first quarter and ultimately led by 20 points later in the third period.
• Camryn Taylor (13 pts) was the lone Cavalier to score in double figures. Then-freshman point guard Yonta Vaughn made her first career start.

LAST TIME OUT

• Virginia dropped its fifth straight game at then-No. 20 North Carolina, 81-68, this past Sunday (Jan. 14).
• Camryn Taylor (16 pts, 7 reb) led the Hoos in scoring for the fifth straight game.
• Including Taylor, UVA had four players score in double figures in Kymora Johnson (13 pts, 5 ast), Olivia McGhee (12 pts, 4-7 FG) and London Clarkson (10 pts, 7 reb).
• UVA was 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from 3-point range, its best clip in an ACC matchup this season.
• Carolina leaped out to a 14-point lead early on in the second quarter and did not trail at any point in the contest.
• UNC’s Deja Kelly finished with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-17 shooting and Alyssa Ustby (17 pts, 12 reb) recorded a double-double.

VIRGINIA AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS

• Virginia’s last win over a ranked opponent was in Charlottesville against then-No. 22 NC State, 71-59, on Feb. 12, 2023.
• Dating back to 2016-17, Virginia has just three ranked wins, only one over a top-20 foe.
• UVA 2-48 in its last 50 games against ranked opponents.
• Notre Dame was not ranked in any of UVA’s three wins over the Fighting Irish in series history.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS

• Under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, UVA is 19-3 in non-conference action.
• The Cavaliers won their first 14 non-conference matchups before falling to No. 25 Oklahoma, 82-67, on Nov. 19.

OLD SCHOOL BASKETBALL

• As of Jan. 16, Virginia is eighth in the nation in rebounds per game (46.06), 11th in offensive rebounds per game (16.4), 24th in defensive rebounds per game (29.7) and 17th free throw percentage (78.0).
• The Cavaliers are 8-3 this season when either leading or tying their opponents in rebounding.
• Virginia has been outrebounded in just four contests this season (vs. #7 LSU, #3 NC State, Duke, and #20 North Carolina).
• UVA has shot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe in seven games this season.
• Among all Division-I players, Camryn Taylor (86.8) is 43rd in the nation in free throw percentage, also good for third in the ACC.

CAMRYN TAYLOR PROPELLING THE HOOS

• Fifth-year forward Camryn Taylor has led UVA in scoring in 10 games this season, including all five ACC contests.
• She scored a season-high 26 points – the most by a Cavalier in a single game this season – in UVA’s overtime win over Missouri (Nov. 30).
• Her 26 points against the Tigers were just one shy of tying her career high.
• Taylor has scored in double figures 14 times this season and has a pair of double-doubles (18 pts, 13 reb vs. Rider; 17 pts, 15 reb vs. #3 NC State).
• She is currently eighth in the ACC in scoring (18.2 ppg) among ACC games only.
• Taylor is currently third in the ACC and 43rd in the nation in free throw percentage (86.8).
• At La Salle (Dec. 3), Taylor went 10-for-10 at the charity stripe without hitting a basket from the field.

JOHNSON, VAUGHN AMONG THE ACC’S ASSISTS LEADERS

• Kymora Johnson (5.3 apg) and Yonta Vaughn (3.8 apg) are one of three pairs of teammates in the ACC averaging at least 3.8 assists per game.
• Virginia is one of just 19 schools nationally with two players on its roster averaging at least 3.8 assists per game.
• Among those 19 programs, UVA is the only one with two underclassmen averaging at least 3.8 assists per game.
• Johnson is currently fourth in the league in assists per game, while Vaughn is 12th.
• Johnson (2.40) and Vaughn (2.30) are currently third and fifth, respectively, in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Johnson is currently third in assists per game among all freshmen nationally.

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia travels to No. 15 Florida State (14-4, 5-1 ACC) on Sunday (Jan. 21).
• Tipoff from Tucker Center is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.