Women’s basketball: UVA hosts Boston College on Sunday

The UVA women’s basketball team (11-5, 0-3 ACC) takes on Boston College (8-9, 1-3 ACC) on Sunday, Jan. 15 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 NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA with Channing Poole providing the play-by-play. The game will also stream live online as an ACC Network Extra contest.

The game is Princess & Super Hero Day with the first 400 youth eighth-grade and under receiving a free Cavman cape.

The Cavaliers are coming off a 67-58 loss at North Carolina last Sunday (Jan. 8). UVA trailed 34-28 at halftime, the first time this season the team was down at the break. The game featured eight lead changes and three ties. The Cavaliers took a 58-57 lead on a jumper from freshman guard Dominique Toussaint (Staten Island, N.Y.) with 3:42 remaining, but the Tar Heels closed out the game on a 10-0 run to pick up the victory.

The Cavaliers lead the ACC and are ranked ninth in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 53.7 points per game. Virginia also leads the ACC in opponent field goal shooting percentage (33.9 percent), ranking 10th in the nation, and opponent three-point shooting percentage (26.0 percent).

Junior guard Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) has led the team in scoring in each of the last two games, averaging 18.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in that span. In UVA’s three ACC games, Huland El is averaging a team-high 14.7 points per game and shooting 57.1 percent (16-of-28).

Freshman guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 per game, which ranks second among all ACC freshmen. Willoughby has had the team-high rebounds in three of the last four games and is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game in ACC contest.

The UVA first years are leading the team in several statistical categories. In addition to Willoughby leading the team in rebounding, center Felicia Aiyeotan (Lagos, Nigeria) leads the team in blocked shots (28) and field goal shooting percentage (61.4 percent). Toussaint leads the team in assists (48). When it comes to three-point shooting, however, it is the upper classmen who dominate, with senior Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va) and juniors Huland El and J’Kyra Brown (Rocky Mount, N.C.) accounting for 60 of the Cavaliers’ 82 treys.

Boston College is coming off a 71-67 loss to Georgia Tech on Thursday. In a game of runs, BC rattled off a 12-2 run in the third quarter, outscoring the Yellowjackets 21-13 in the period. The Eagles held Tech to no field goals for the final 5:35. A layup from Kelly Hughes cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 69-65 with 32 seconds left but Georgia Tech sealed it with four free throws to end the game. Mariella Fasoula scored 22 points to lead the Eagles. Fasoula leads the team and is ranked eighth in the ACC, averaging 16.0 points per game. Fasoula is 11th in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.1 per game.

Virginia leads the all-time series, 14-5, including an 11-4 mark in regular-season ACC contests. The Cavaliers have won seven of the last nine meetings between the two teams. Last season, UVA picked up a 61-50 victory at BC. Junior forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) had a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Virginia entered the final quarter with an 18-point lead (50-32) but the Eagles scored 11 unanswered points to close within 50-43 before Huland El converted a basket with 5:19 remaining to play. A three-point basket by Hughes cut UVA’s lead to six points but the Eagles could never get closer.

Virginia has back-to-back road games at Clemson and Pittsburgh on Jan. 19 and 22 before returning to John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday, Jan. 26 to host Virginia Tech.

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).