Women’s notebook: Virginia looks for 9-0 start at Penn State in ACC-Big Ten Challenge

jerryratcliffe.com

Posted on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, 11:59 pm

Follow Jerry Ratcliffe on Twitter

Advertising inquiries: Connect with us

Email Jerry Ratcliffe: jratcliffe7000@gmail.com

 

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Camryn Taylor puts up a shot against ECU. She finished with 8 points on Sunday. (Photo by Michael Bruder)

The Virginia women’s basketball team takes on Penn State on Wednesday at 7 p.m., in an ACC-Big Ten Challenge game at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

  • The game will stream online on B1G+ (subscription required)
  • All of the 2022-23 Virginia women’s basketball games are available locally on the radio on NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA
  • Live stats be available
  • Links are posted on VirginiaSports.com

VIRGINIA NOTES

  • Virginia (8-0, 1-0 ACC) and Penn State (7-0, 0-0 B1G) are among the remaining 27 undefeated teams in NCAA I women’s basketball
  • The Cavaliers are 8-0 for the first time since the 1992-93 season. The last time the team began a season 9-0 was during its 13-0 start to the 1991-92 season
  • Head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton was lauded by M.A. Voepel of ESPN.com as this week’s Women’s Basketball Coach of the Week for leading the team to its 8-0 start
  • Virginia’s last nine-game win streak was in 2008-09 (Dec. 4- Jan. 11)
  • This is UVA’s second game against a Big Ten opponent in five days after topping Minnesota 73-70 in the opening game of the Cavalier Classic on Saturday (Nov. 26)
  • UVA closed out their home tournament with a 72-50 victory against East Carolina on Sunday (Nov. 27)
  • The Cavaliers outrebounded the Pirates 56-25 (+31)
  • UVA ranks eighth in the nation in rebounding margin (+14.9) and seventh in rebounds per game (47.9)
  • The team is 10th in offensive rebounds per game (17.1), which leads the ACC
  • The Cavaliers had 19 O-boards on Sunday against East Carolina, scoring a season-high 25 second-chance points. UVA is averaging 15.2 second-chance points per game
  • Virginia outscored Minnesota by 12 in the second quarter and ECU by 15 in the third. UVA has outscored an opponent in a quarter by double figures seven times this season
  • UVA trailed Minnesota by 10 points in the first quarter before mounting a 22-1 run across the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter. It was the fifth time this season that UVA has erased a deficit of six or more points to come back to win the game
  • McKenna Dale scored 10 points against ECU, becoming the 10th different Cavalier this season to score in double figures in a game
  • Mir McLean put up double-doubles in both games of the Cavalier Classic, averaging 11.0 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. She grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in the win against the Golden Gophers
  • McLean is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game, which ranks fifth in the ACC. Her 2.1 steals per game ranks 10th
  • Taylor Valladay dished six assists in both games of the Cavalier Classic. She is averaging 4.0 assists per game
  • Including the exhibition contest against Pitt-Johnstown, the Penn State will be Virginia’s 10th game in the month of November

ACC-BIG TEN CHALLENGE

  • Virginia is 5-8 all-time in Challenge games and is looking for its first win since 2012
  • The Cavaliers did not compete in the Challenge last season. The 2020 Challenge was canceled because of COVID. This is Virginia’s first appearance since 2019
  • This is the first meeting in the Challenge between the Cavaliers and Lady Lions in the Challenge
  • On Monday, the ACC, SEC and ESPN announced the formation of the ACC/SEC Challenge for men’s and women’s basketball, which will begin as part of the 2023-24 season

SCOUTING PENN STATE

  • Penn State has opened the season 7-0, their best start since 1996-97
  • The seven straight wins are the most since an 11-game streak from Dec. 9, 2012-Jan. 27, 2013
  • PSU topped Toledo and Fresno State over Thanksgiving week at the Daytona Beach Invitational
  • This is Penn State’s second game against an ACC team this season after erasing a 21-point deficit against Syracuse to down the Orange 82-69
  • Makenna Marisa was named to the watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award honoring the top point guard in the nation
  • UVA alumna Sharnee Zoll-Norman is an assistant coach at Penn State. Zoll-Norman was on Tammi Reiss’ Rhode Island staff when UVA played the Rams in last season’s Cavalier Classic tournament
  • Zoll graduated as the ACC’s career-leader in assists (785), surpassing Dawn Staley’s previous record of 785. She ranks 25th on the UVA career scoring list with 1,169 points
  • Virginia leads the all-time series 4-3 but has lost the last two meetings. The last meeting was an 82-69 victory by Penn State in a 1999 NCAA Tournament first-round game

ON THE HORIZON

Virginia returns home to host UNCW on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. in the team’s final home contest before breaking for finals.