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UVA women’s basketball hosts Boston College on Thursday

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uva womens basketballThe UVA women’s basketball team (12-4, 2-1 ACC) hosts Boston College (8-8, 0-3 ACC) on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.

Despite its 70-58 loss at Syracuse on Sunday, Virginia comes into the game tied for fourth place in the ACC while Boston College is one of three teams still looking for its first conference win.

BC has been outscored by an average of 23.3 points in its three ACC contests and are -7.3 in rebounding. Kelly Hughes leads the team, averaging 15.3 points per game with Nicole Boudreau averaging 12.5 points per game. Hughes and Boudreau combine to make over five three-pointers per game with both players shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. BC, as a team, averages 8.5 made threes per game, while Emilee Daley is 6-of-9 from three-point range in the last three games.

Virginia is 12-5 all-time against BC, but the Eagles have won two of the last three meetings including the 2014 regular-season match up in Chestnut Hill, 69-65. Virginia won the last meeting between the two, a 74-59 game in the first round of the 2014 ACC Tournament.

Junior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) currently ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game. Randolph paced the Cavaliers at Syracuse with her sixth 20-point game of the year, scoring 24 points. Randolph made 10 field goals, scoring six of Virginia’s 10 buckets in the first half, her second 10-basket performance of the season. Randolph also took 22 shots in the game, the third time this season she has attempted 20 or more in a game.

Freshman forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) matched her season high with 13 rebounds against Syracuse, grabbing 11 of those in the first half. In the last three games, Moses is averaging 9.3 rebounds per game.

Senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) had nine rebounds at Syracuse, including grabbing seven offensive rebounds, moving her back into the national lead in that statistical category at 5.6 per game. Imovbioh has had at least five offensive rebounds in four of the last five games and has seven games this year in which she has tallied seven or more O-boards.

Freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) is averaging 14.3 points per game in ACC contests and shooting 47.8 percent from three-point range in ACC games. Venson’s 11 three-pointers are tied for the most by an ACC player in conference games this season.

The Cavaliers are 9-1 at home this season, averaging 16.0 more points per game than their opponents as well as outrebounding teams (+3.9), posting a +4.4 turnover margin and grabbing 3.0 more steals per game.

Next up, the Cavaliers will play back-to-back road games against the only two teams that are still undefeated in ACC play, beginning with a Sunday, Jan. 18 game at No. 4 Louisville followed by a trip to Miami on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The Louisville game, which tips off at 3 p.m., will be broadcast on the ACC Regional Sports Networks and stream online on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

Virginia will be back at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday, Jan. 25, hosting Georgia Tech at 2 p.m. The National Girls and Women in Sports Day game will feature a halftime ceremony honoring former Cavalier Meghan O’Leary as well as a free pregame sports festival from 12:30-1:45 that includes seven sports stations for youth to visit. Children completing all seven stations will receive a complimentary t-shirt. Admission to the festival is free with a game ticket.

Single-game ticket prices for all home games are $10 for Reserved seating, $8 for adult General Admission and $6 for youth (18 & under), senior (60 & over) and UVa faculty/staff General Admission. Fans may purchase home game tickets through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone and in person. The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and openMonday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).

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