Virginia Drops ACC Opener to Boston College

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Latasha Lattimore (23 pts, 10-12 FG, 9 reb) turned in one of her most impressive performances as a Cavalier, but Virginia came up short in its ACC opener. The Cavaliers (6-5, 0-1 ACC) fell to Boston College (7-4, 1-0 ACC) by a score of 72-57 on Thursday afternoon (Dec. 8) at John Paul Jones Arena.

Lattimore’s performance marked a season-high in points while falling just one rebound short of her fourth double-double this season. Her 23 points were just two shy of matching her career high. Additionally, Kymora Johnson (11 pts, 5-10 FG, 4 ast, 6 stl) logged double figures for the 11^th consecutive game and pocketed a career-high in steals.

Virginia never led in the game after falling behind early. Boston College guard T’yana Todd proved to be a major factor in building up an Eagle advantage as she went for 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting including 5-of-6 from three-point range in the first half.

How It Happened
Boston College scored the first six points of the quarter, but an 8-3 Cavalier run pulled Virginia back within a point. Latasha Lattimore led the Cavaliers with six points and three rebounds, but 14 first-quarter points from Boston College’s Todd (5-7 FG, 4-5 3PT) had Virginia trailing 22-17 at the end of the opening period.

An 11-3 Eagle run to start the second stretched the Boston College lead to double digits. The Eagles outscored Virginia 19-11 in the second frame and led by as many as 15 [24-39]. Virginia went into the halftime break trailing by 13 [29-41]. Lattimore led the Cavaliers at the end of the half with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting with six rebounds.

The Eagles connected on three of their first four shots to start the second half and increase their lead to 18 [30-48], their largest of the game. The Cavaliers were outscored 13-11 in the third and entered the fourth quarter trailing 54-39.

A back-and-forth final quarter saw each teams score 18 points. Lattimore recorded 10 of her 23 points in the final period without missing a single shot going 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Both teams traded 4-0 runs to finish the game.

From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
“Obviously we’re in some adversity right now. We’ve got to get our confidence back. We’ve got to get back on the same page, get some people healthy. Can’t keep turning the ball over the way we are, we have to value that. Obviously, didn’t shoot it well from the three or the free throw line, and that was the difference in the game.”

Game Notes

• Latasha Lattimore marked a season-high 23 points, just two points from a career best
• Kymora Johnson marked a career-high with six steals
• Double-figure scorers: Lattimore (23), Johnson (11)
• Johnson has scored in double figures in every game this season
• Lattimore marks her first 20-point performance as a Cavalier
• The Cavaliers surrendered 29 points off 22 turnovers
• Virginia scored 17 points off Boston College’s 21 turnovers
• After giving up 19 first-half points to T’yana Todd Virginia limited her to just two in the second
• Boston College owned a 37-29 advantage in rebounding

Up Next:
The Cavaliers return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 17) when they take host Maryland Eastern-Shore. Tipoff atJohn Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).