Women’s notebook: Virginia vs. No. 22 North Carolina

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia women’s basketball team hosts No. 22 North Carolina on Thursday at 7 p.m., at John Paul Jones Arena.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• The game will stream online on ACCNX through the ESPN app. It is available through participating TV providers that carry the ACC Network
• The game will be airing on the Virginia Sports Radio Network
• Live stats be available
• Links are posted on VirginiaSports.com

GAME PROMOTIONS

• Thursday is the Shoes For Hope game
• Last month, members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams partnered with patients at UVA’s Children’s Hospital to create special shoes that our coaching staff will be wearing the game
• Our coaches will wear the creations on the sideline during Thursday’s game. The men’s coaches will wear their shoes for the Jan. 28 game against Boston College
• 27 pairs of unique and colorful shoes will be auctioned off to raise money for cancer research as part of UVA’s annual Coaches vs. Cancer campaign

VIRGINIA NOTES

• This is the Cavaliers’ third-straight game against a ranked opponent after suffering losses at No. 9 Virginia Tech last Thursday and at No. 10 NC State on Sunday
• Junior guard/forward Mir McLean suffered a season-ending knee injury in the NC State game. McLean had grabbed 11 rebounds in the contest before leaving the game in the third quarter. She finishes her season ranked third in the ACC and 34th in the nation with 9.6 rebounds per game and leads the ACC and is 22nd in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 3.9. She ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game. She had a team-best five double-doubles this season
• The Cavaliers (13-3, 2-3 ACC) committed a season-low seven turnovers in the NC State game. They are averaging 15.3 turnovers per game while forcing 19.0 turnovers per game
• Despite being outrebounded at NC State, the Cavaliers are still second in the ACC and 10th in the nation in rebounding margin at plus-10.9 per game
• Virginia is third in the ACC and 10th in the nation in rebounding, averaging 45.2 per game
• UVA’s 15.6 offensive rebounds per game lead the conference and are 19th in the nation
• Virginia is third in the ACC and No. 25 in NCAA I in field-goal shooting percentage, limiting opponents to 35.5 percent. The squad is second in the ACC and 19th in NCAA I in 3-point shooting defense, limiting teams to 25.5 percent from beyond the arc
• The Cavaliers are fourth in the ACC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 57.5 points per game
• Camryn Taylor led the team in scoring in both games last week. She has led the Cavaliers in scoring five times this season, but her 18 points at Virginia Tech was her first time pacing the Cavaliers since a 22-point game against Minnesota on Nov. 26
• Taylor ranks ninth in the ACC in field-goal shooting percentage at 46.3 percent
• Sam Brunelle enters the game with 980 career points, 20 shy of scoring 1,000 points combined at Notre Dame and Virginia. Brunelle has scored in double figures 11 times this season, including five of the last six games
• Taylor Valladay scored 13 points at NC State, her second-highest scoring game of the season next to a 19-point game at American
• Valladay is sixth in the ACC in assists per game at 3.9. She has had at least one assist in every game except one in her UVA career (vs NC State last season) and has at least one assist in each of the last 30 contests
• Alexia Smith has started the last three games for the Cavaliers, her fourth overall start of the season. Smith started 12 of 19 games her freshman season at Minnesota but only made one start last season. In her last three games, she is averaging 6.3 points (including a 10-point performance against Georgia Tech), 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

• North Carolina (10-5, 1-3) is coming off a 60-50 victory against No. 4 Notre Dame on Sunday. It was their second top-five win of the year after defeating then-No. 5 Iowa State in November
• The Tar Heels opened conference play with losses against Florida State, Virginia Tech and Miami
• The Tar Heels lead the ACC in turnover margin at plus-5.47 (23rd in the nation)
• Deja Kelley is fifth in the ACC in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game
• Eva Hodgson is shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range, ranking fourth in the ACC. She is averaging 2.3 made 3s per game
• Alyssa Ustby ranks fifth in the ACC in rebounding with 8.9 per game
• North Carolina leads the all-time series 56-34 and has won the last five meetings. Virginia’s last victory was an 82-70 game in Charlottesville on Jan. 25, 2018

ON THE HORIZON

Virginia hosts Boston College on Sunday at noon, in the second of three-straight home contests. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.

Tonight is our Shoes for Hope game. Check out the 🎥 below that explains this special project, and then be sure to 👀 the works of art that @UVACoachMox and the staff will be wearing during the game #MoreThanAGame👟 #HoosCare🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/ujAtWCI2wq

— Virginia Women’s Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) January 12, 2023