Women’s basketball: UVA closes regular season with No. 18 NC State

The UVA women’s basketball team (18-10, 7-8 ACC) closes out the 2016-17 regular season by hosting No. 18 NC State (24-6, 11-4 ACC) on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.

All of the 2016-17 Virginia women’s basketball games – home and away – are available locally on the radio on NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA with Luke Neer providing the play-by-play. The game will also stream live online as an ACC Network Extra game.

Sunday’s game is Virginia’s #Play4Kay Pink Game, honoring the legacy of former NC State Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow. All fans in attendance are encouraged to wear pink to join the Cavaliers in the fight against women’s cancers.

The Cavaliers are receiving votes in this week’s USA Today Coaches poll. NC State is ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls.

Virginia leads the ACC and is second in the country in three-point shooting defense with opponents making just 25.4 percent of their attempts from long range. St. John’s leads the nation by limiting opponents to 24.2 percent three-point shooting. Virginia is second in the ACC and 17th in the nation in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 55.3 points per game. UVA is second in the ACC and 24th in the nation in field goal shooting defense with opponents making 35.9 percent of their attempts.

Senior Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.), who scored her 1,000th career point on a jumper right before halftime at Virginia Tech, will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Sunday for Senior Day. Mason has led the team in scoring in each of the last two games, including matching a season high with 19 points on Thursday at Louisville. Mason is averaging 16.0 points per game in the last two games after averaging 7.5 points per game in the four previous contests. Mason has moved into the team lead in scoring for the first time this season at 10.2 points per game.

Freshman guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) scored 10 points at Virginia Tech, her first double-digit scoring effort since putting up 16 at Notre Dame on Jan. 29th. Willoughby followed that with a double-digit rebounding performance at Louisville, her first since grabbing 11 in the ACC opener at Syracuse on Jan. 2. Willoughby is second among the ACC freshmen in rebounding at 6.4 per game. Wake’s Alex Sharp paces the freshman class at 7.3 per game. Willoughby leads ACC freshmen with 49 steals (1.75 per game).

Virginia leads the all-time series against NC State, 39-34, and is 35-31 in regular-season ACC contests. Virginia has won four of the last seven meetings. UVA fell last year, 63-52, when playing in NC State’s temporary home of Broughton High School. The Cavaliers picked up a 71-63 victory over NC State in 2015 during the Wolfpack’s last trip to Charlottesville.

NC State is fourth in the ACC in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 59.1 points per game and a 37.0 shooting percentage. The Wolfpack have three players averaging double-figures, led by Dominique Wilson at 13.1 points per game. Chelsea Nelson leads the defensive efforts at 6.5 rebounds per game.

Virginia is alone in eighth place in the ACC standings heading into the last day of the regular season. NC State and Louisville are tied for fourth place in the conference and battling for the tourney’s double-bye. The Cavaliers are guaranteed to finish no lower than ninth in the conference, guaranteeing that they will have a first-round bye in next week’s ACC Tournament. The bracket for the ACC Tournament, which runs from March 1-5 at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C., will be released on Sundayevening (Feb. 26).

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).