Dec. 4, 2012

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The ninth-ranked Maryland women's basketball team will open its 18-game Atlantic Coast Conference slate Thursday with a game vs. Virginia. The Terps and the Cavaliers will play at 7 p.m. in Comcast Center.

The Terps-Cavaliers game will be shown live online for a fee on TerpsTV Premium. For tickets, log on to UMTerps.com.

This will be the 79th meeting between the Terps and the Cavaliers, with Maryland winning the last three straight. Most recently, Maryland beat Virginia 70-58, in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals last March. Alyssa Thomas led with 18 points and Tianna Hawkins added 10 boards. The Terps went on to win their 10th ACC title.

Tianna Hawkins scored 14 and grabbed 10 rebounds, while freshman Chloe Pavlech added a career-high 10 points to lead No. 9 Maryland, as it fell at No. 2 Connecticut, 63-48, Monday in the Jimmy V Classic. The Terrapins held the Huskies to their lowest field goal percentage (38.8), lowest 3-point field goal percentage (33.3) and beat them on the boards, 37-33, for the first time this year.

Alyssa Thomas was voted ACC Player of the Week the league announced Monday. This marks the 12th weekly honor for Thomas, who was named Rookie of the Week a record seven times in 2010-2011 and was named Player of the Week four times last season.

The Terrapins lead the country in rebounding margin by an astounding +19.5. They are top 10 in the country in assists per game (3), field goal percentage (4), scoring margin (5) and assist/turnover ratio (9). Hawkins picked up where she left off last season and leads the country with her field goal percentage of .653.

After Thursday's game, the Terps will welcome George Mason (4-2) to Comcast Center for a 6 p.m. game Saturday. The game will also be broadcast live on UMTerps.com and tickets are still available.