Women’s basketball: UVA downs UIC, 76-39

The UVA women’s basketball team (7-2, 0-0 ACC) picked up a 76-39 victory over UIC (2-7, 0-0) on Friday (Dec. 16) at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia went on a 22-0 run during the third and fourth quarters, holding UIC scoreless for a span of 12:02, to break open the game.

The Cavaliers shot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) while limiting Illinois-Chicago to making just 25.5 percent (14-of-55) of its shots. The Flames also struggled at the free throw line, making just 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) from the stripe. Virginia scored 30 points off of the Flames’ 23 turnovers.

“It was nice to get back in the gym and playing after taking 11 days off for finals,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “Tonight, we tried to speed UIC up a little bit, tried to turn them over. We tried to change defenses and keep them guessing. I think in the third and fourth quarter, were much better than the first half. I think we got out to a slow start and that was disappointing but we turned the corner when we got to the third and fourth quarter.”

Freshman center Felicia Aiyeotan (Lagos, Nigeria) made her first seven field goal attempts in the game, finishing 8-of-9 from the field for 16 points, with 12 of those coming in the second half. Aiyeotan also added six rebounds and four blocked shots. Senior guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) also scored 16 points, going 6-of-9 from the field, with four rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) also had a strong shooting performance, going 5-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, to score 14 points, while also grabbing seven rebounds.

Brittany Byrd came off the bench to lead the Flames, scoring 17 points with four rebounds and four steals.

The Cavaliers opened the game on a 12-3 run, but the Flames used hot shooting from three-point range to get back into the game. UIC began the game making six of its first nine three-point attempts, including going 4-of-7 in the first quarter. A three-pointer from Byrd with 8:21 remaining in the first half pulled UIC to within two, 21-19, but it was as close as they would get. The Cavaliers made five-consecutive field goal attempts, including three treys from Huland El, to open up a 36-22 lead midway through the second quarter. The Cavaliers went into the halftime break with a 42-27 lead.

The Cavaliers broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Flames 17-4 while keeping UIC off the scoreboard for the final 7:45 of the period. Mason started a 14-0 UVA run by hitting her second three-pointer of the night. Freshman Lisa Jablonowski (Ernster, Luxembourg) also contributed a trey and Aiyeotan made a trio of layups to put the Cavaliers up 59-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, including a pair of layups from Aiyeotan, before UIC ended its scoring drought on a jumper from Terri Bender with 5:43 remaining in the game. The Cavaliers went 7-of-9 from the field in the fourth quarter to close out the game.

UVA held a slight edge in rebounding, 42-35. The Cavaliers also dominated in the paint, outscoring the Flames 36-12 down low.

Virginia will be back in action on Monday, Dec. 19, playing at Georgia at 7 p.m. The Cavaliers return to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 21 when they host Maryland Eastern Shore at 7 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).