Starting this Sunday, November 20th, the Virginia Women's Basketball program has a slate of very competitive games against tough competition. It starts with #3 Tennessee on Sunday at home, continues in Hawaii with Texas, Hawaii and Cal (that should be fun for Boyle who was the head coach in Berkeley last year) and then back to Virginia against Indiana as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
As a warm-up to that rough slate, the ladies played three games in the span of 6 days. They opened with a win over Appalachian State. They then took a quick jaunt up the coast to Providence where they snared their second win.
Last night, they hit the floor at JPJ for their final tune-up against High Point. While it certainly wasn't the prettiest of victories, the Cavaliers got the job done and kept themselves undefeated with a 67-41 victory.
Perhaps this is the style that Boyle intended to bring to Virginia, or perhaps she's been having a few conversations with the man down the hall from her - men's head coach Tony Bennett. But regardless, Virginia's defense has been solid through three games. Their opponents are averaging a meager 42.3 points per game. That's actually a hair lower than Bennett's squad, who is only allowing opponents 43 points per game.
Senior Ariana Moorer led all scorers with 14 points. Sophomore Jazmin Pitts was right behind her with 13. Once again, there was a lot of balance on the offensive end of the court for the Cavaliers. Junior Telia McCall and Sophomore Ataira Franklin both checked in with 8 points, while Lexie Gerson added 6. All ten eligible players (Sarah Beth Barnette and Sarah Imovbioh are ineligible to participate this year) on the roster scored at least three points on the day.
Through three games, Pitts is leading the team with 12 points per game, with Moorer behind her at 10.3 ppg. Franklin and Chelsea Shine are tied for third with 8.7 ppg.
The Cavaliers take to the court on Sunday against Tennesee, who is ranked third in the country, at 2pm. It should be one of the more enjoyable games of the year, so I definitely recommend you come out to the Jack and see it.