The Virginia women’s basketball team lost 71-49 at home against No. 4 Louisville Thursday night.
The Cavaliers (10-16, 4-9 ACC) led 28-25 at the half, becoming the first team to be ahead of the Cardinals at halftime all season. However, Louisville (24-2, 11-2 ACC) outscored Virginia 46-21 in the second half to pull away and seal the victory.
Junior guard Jocelyn Willoughby led the Cavaliers with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Following a jumper in the third quarter, Willoughby became the 35th player in Virginia history to score 1,000 career points.
Junior forward Lisa Jablonowski and sophomore guard Khyasia Caldwell also scored in double figures for Virginia, with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Virginia outrebounded Louisville 38-27, with 13 offensive rebounds to Louisville’s eight.
The game was tied at 14 apiece at the end of the first quarter after a free throw by Jablonowski with 33 seconds to go.
The Cavaliers opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run — including a three-pointer from freshman guard Erica Martinsen — to go up 24-14. Virginia made only three three-pointers Thursday night with one by Martinsen and two by Willoughby.
Louisville came back to cut Virginia’s lead to three points at the end of the half, with sophomore guard Dana Evans finishing off a fast break with 12 seconds remaining.
The Cardinals continued their momentum into the second half, coming out of the locker room on a 12-0 run. Junior guard Jazmine Jones gave Louisville a lead they would not relinquish with 8:01 to play in the third.
The Louisville lead would grow to as large as 24 points on two different occasions in the fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers will play their last home game of the season Sunday afternoon against Georgia Tech. Senior forward Moné Jones and junior forward Shakyna Payne, who redshirted her freshman year, will be honored as part of Senior Day festivities. Virginia will also be wearing pink on Sunday to support the Play4Kay cancer fundraising initiative.
Tipoff will be at 3 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.
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