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Women’s basketball: Virginia downs Georgia Tech, 78-67

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virginia basketballThe Virginia women’s basketball team (13-6, 3-2 ACC) earned a 78-67 road victory at Georgia Tech (11-8, 1-5 ACC) on Sunday (Jan. 17) at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga.

After trailing 37-34 at halftime, sophomore Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) scored nine of her 23 points in the third quarter, including hitting a three-pointer with 3:26 remaining in the period, to put Virginia back in front. The Cavaliers outscored the Yellow Jackets 24-14 in the final 10 minutes to secure the road victory.

“I am really happy to pick up this victory on the road,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “I thought we stayed aggressive early. We got a little flat, then got back to being aggressive. We played some zone and we were able to get some easy run-outs that settled us down a little bit. Anytime you are making easy baskets it makes the harder ones come easier. Breyana [Mason] really stepped up and Mikayla [Venson] did a great job turning the corners. They both hit some timely shots for us.”

Venson was 4-of-7 from three-point range and 9-of-15 overall, also adding six assists to her 23 points. Junior Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) scored a season-high 21 points, going 10-of-14 from the field, with four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Aaliyah Whiteside led Georgia Tech with 27 points, also grabbing four rebounds with three assists.

Virginia started the game making eight of its first 10 shots, leading by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, but went 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) the remainder of the half to trail 37-34 at the break.

In a see-saw third quarter, sophomore Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) tied the game, 40-40, on a layup, only to have Georgia Tech counter with a three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring on the opposite end. Sophomore Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) gave the Cavaliers a momentary lead on a layup with 5:24remaining in the quarter, but it was a three-pointer from Venson, making it 48-47, followed by an and-one from Mason that put Virginia in the lead for good.

The Cavaliers started the fourth quarter on a 12-1 run that included a three-pointer from Venson off an inbound pass with one second remaining on the shot clock and an and-one from freshman Moné Jones (Durham, N.C.). The Cavaliers closed out the game making their last eight field goal attempts to secure the win.

Junior Sydney Umeri, who grew up 30 minutes north of Atlanta in Acworth, Ga., scored eight points with seven rebounds. Huland El scored 12 points with five assists and three rebounds.

Virginia held a 36-35 rebounding edge. The Cavaliers scored 23 points off 11 Tech turnovers. The Yellow Jackets only scored two points off 13 UVA miscues.

The Cavaliers will continue their road trip next Thursday, Jan. 21, when they play at No. 14 Florida State at 7 p.m. Virginia will be back in action at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday, Jan. 24, hosting Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. The Pittsburgh game is National Girls and Women in Sports Day. In addition to a halftime ceremony honoring the 1991 National Champion Virginia women’s lacrosse team, National Girls and Women in Sports Day will also feature a pregame sports festival held in the east end, upper-level concourse of John Paul Jones Arena. The festival will include six sports stations for youth to visit, including basketball, football, golf, rowing, softball and volleyball. The festival will take place from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Youth completing all six stations will receive a complimentary t-shirt. Admission to the festival is free with a game ticket. There will also be activities for youth set-up in the main lobby of the arena starting at 11:30 a.m., including a photo booth, a sign-making station, face painting, a balloon artist and inflatable games.

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 openMonday 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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