Hoos face Wake to open Ally ACC Tournament

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Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 6, 2024, 2:53 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

No. 11 seed Virginia makes its 47th all-time ACC Tournament appearance when the Cavaliers take on 14th-seeded Wake Forest in the first round at Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday. Opening tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on ACC Network.

FOR OPENERS

  • The Cavaliers (15-14, 7-11 ACC) are coming off an 80-75 win over instate rival and then-No. 5 Virginia Tech in their regular-season finale.
  • UVA has won five of its last seven games, two of which were over ranked opponents.
  • Wednesday’s tournament matchup against the Demon Deacons (6-24, 2-16) is a rematch of UVA’s last two ACC Tournament openers, both of which the Cavaliers were on the losing end of.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

  • Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst) will have the call on ACC Network.
  • The game will also be broadcast on 98.9-FM and 1070-AM WINA, VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports mobile app.
  • Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports mobile app.

A WIN FOR THE CAVALIERS WOULD…

  • Give Virginia its fourth win over a ranked opponent this season, a first since 2008-09.
  • Be UVA’s sixth victory in its last eight games.
  • Snap a two-game losing skid in the ACC Tournament and would mark the program’s first victory in the tournament since 2019.
  • Guarantee the Hoos an above-.500 record upon the conclusion of this year’s ACC Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Virginia leads the all-time series, which began in 1976, 71-10.
  • UVA is 7-3 all-time against the Demon Deacons in the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers won in: 1987, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2017. Wake defeated UVA in 2011, 2022 and 2023.
  • The Hoos won the first six meetings in the tournament between the two teams.
  • Of Wake’s 10 victories since the series began 49 years ago, five of them have come in the last seven meetings dating back to 2018-19.
  • The Cavaliers won 49 straight meetings from 1979 through 2002.

VIRGINIA IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT

  • UVA is 37-42 (.468) all-time in the ACC Tournament, including 6-4 in the first round.
  • Among current ACC schools, UVA has only faced North Carolina (14) in the ACC Tournament more times than Wake Forest (10). The Cavaliers have also gone head-to-head with Georgia Tech 10 times.
  • UVA’s last win in the tournament was when the 12th-seeded Cavaliers defeated No. 13 seed Boston College, 77-61, in the first round of the 2019 tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
  • The last time UVA had a player on the ACC’s All-Tournament Team was Monica Wright in 2010.
  • Virginia has won three ACC Tournaments (1990, 1992 & 1993).
  • UVA is 5-2 in ACC Tournament games that required overtime, including when UVA knocked off Wake Forest, 68-67, in the quarterfinals 1989 tournament in Fayetteville, N.C.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE HOOS & WAKE FOREST

  • Virginia freshmen Kymora Johnson (23 points, 8 for 13 FG, 6 rebounds, 7 assists) and Olivia McGhee (22 points, 9 for 15 FG, 5 rebounds) combined for 45 points to lead the Cavaliers in their 87-79 victory at Wake Forest on Feb. 11.
  • McGhee’s 22 points are her career high and eight points more than her previous best (14), which she achieved three times earlier this season.
  • Camryn Taylor (14 points, 5 for 7 FG) and Sam Brunelle (13 points, 5 for 9 FG, 6 rebounds) also scored in double figures.
  • Virginia shot 53.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range, its second-best performances in both categories among ACC matchups this season. The Cavaliers knocked down 13 3-pointers, only two shy of tying the program record, which UVA achieved against Tulane earlier this season.
  • Virginia’s largest lead was 18 points with under 2:00 to play in the third and the Demon Deacons nearly mounted a comeback after trimming their defecit to as little as six points with 10 seconds remaining in the contest.

JOHNSON ON VERGE OF SETTING FRESHMAN ASSISTS RECORD

  • With 157 total assists in 29 regular-season appearances, Kymora Johnson needs only three more assists to shatter Sharneé Zolls’ freshman assists record of 159.
  • Zoll, who currently serves as an assistant coach at Penn State, set the existing record in 2005.

ON THE HORIZON                                             

The winner of Virginia-Wake Forest will take on No. 6 seed Florida State (21-9, 12-6 ACC) in the second round of the 2024 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network.