Women’s basketball: UVA falls 66-38 to No. 8 NC State

The UVA women’s basketball team (7-10, 1-3 ACC) lost 66-38 to No. 8 NC State (17-0, 4-0 ACC) on Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers were led by a 15-point performance from junior guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.). Willoughby also paced the Cavaliers in rebounding with eight.

Two NC State players finished the game with double-doubles with Erika Cassell scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds and Kiara Leslie scoring 12 points with 10 rebounds. Virginia shot 23.1 percent (12-of-52) while the Wolfpack shot 40.9 percent (27-of-66). NC State held a 48-33 edge in rebounding.

NC State opened the game on an 11-2 run and never looked back, building up a 31-15 advantage at halftime. After falling behind by 28 points with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Virginia made a charge with freshman guard Erica Martinsen (Clarence, N.Y.) hitting a three pointer late in the third.

An and-one from Willoughby to start the fourth followed by a fastbreak layup and a three-pointer from junior guard Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) cut the deficit down to 19, but NC State outscored the Cavaliers 17-8 in the final seven minutes of the game.