The UVA women’s basketball (0-0) opens up the 2016-17 season by hosting Middle Tennessee (0-0) on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.
Please note: Due to the Virginia women’s soccer team hosting an NCAA Tournament first round game against Monmouth at 7 p.m. on Friday evening, there will be a $5 cash parking fee at the U-Hall and Cage lots. Free parking will be available in the McCue East lot and the Emmet/Ivy garage.
All of the 2016-17 Virginia women’s basketball games – home and away – are available locally on NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA with Channing Poole calling the action. Live stats will also be available through Gametracker on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Gameday Live app.
The Cavaliers are coming off a 2015-16 season that saw them post an 18-16 record, finish ninth in the ACC and advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT and have been predicted to finish 10th in this year’s ACC preseason poll. The team returns seven letterwinners from last season and two members of the starting lineup, senior guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) and junior forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.).
Mason, a two-time ACC All-Academic Team honoree, is the lone senior on this year’s team. She was third on the team in scoring last season, averaging 10.0 points per game, a figure that rose to 12.3 ppg in ACC contests. Mason was fourth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio during her sophomore campaign. Mason split time at point guard last season, taking over those primary responsibilities during the Cavaliers’ postseason run.
Moses, who started all 34 games last season, led the Virginia defensive efforts in 2015-16, averaging 6.9 rebounds per game (ranking No. 13 in the ACC). Moses had four double-doubles, eight double-digit rebounding games and 16 double-digit scoring efforts.
Junior guard Aliyah Huland El served as the Cavaliers’ sixth-man last season, appearing in every game with 10 starts, including the final four games of the season. Huland El averaged 9.6 points in 25.1 minutes per game.
The Cavaliers will have four true freshmen and a redshirt freshman on the team this year, including the Gatorade High School State Players of the Year from both New Jersey and New York in Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) and Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.). Toussaint, who attended USA Basketball U18 team trials this summer, was also 2016 Miss New York Basketball. Freshman center Felicia Aiyeotan is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, but attended Nuemann Goretti High in Philadelphia, Pa., winning the national title as the team went 30-0 her junior season, before transferring to Blair Academy in New Jersey for her senior season.
Virginia has won 10 of its last 11 season-openers, including winning 70-66 at Middle Tennessee last season. Virginia is 2-0 all time against the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee has been picked to finish second in the preseason Conference USA poll. Ty Petty and Alex Johnson were both named to the eight-player preseason all-conference team.
Petty was a first-team All C-USA selection and most valuable player in the 2016 C-USA Championship. The point guard set the Middle Tennessee single-season assists record with 195 helpers in 2015-16 and became the only player in program history with five double-figure assist games in the same season. Petty also scored double figures in 24 games.
Johnson debuted in impressive fashion last season when she was named C-USA Freshman of the Year after winning the C-USA Freshman of the Week honor five times. Johnson scored double figures in 23 games, including 21 of the last 22. She capped her breakout season with 22 points against No. 12 Florida State in the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia closes out opening weekend by hosting Coppin State on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.
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 open Monday 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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