CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball program fell 76-52 to Virginia on the road on Monday inside John Paul Jones Arena.

SMU (7-7, 0-2 ACC) fought hard and trailed only by eight after the half, but Virginia (10-3, 2-0 ACC) caught fire in the third quarter, pushing its lead to double digits and holding on for the victory despite the Mustangs' best efforts to get back into the game.

SMU had a cold shooting night, finishing the game shooting 31% from the floor and making four three-pointers, while UVA shot 50% from the field and dominated down low, scoring 54 points in the paint. The Mustangs did hold the advantage in second-chance opportunities, 11-7, and both teams made 10 foul shots.

Zahra King led SMU, scoring 17 points, her eighth game this season reaching double figures. Eleven of her 17 points came in the second half, trying to cut down the UVA lead. She was 6-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line while also adding two steals.

Paulina Paris scored 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting and was one of three Mustangs to corral a team-high five rebounds in the game. Paris also had a team-high two assists.

Jzaniya Harriel was a spark plug off the bench in the first half, scoring 10 points on shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and making two three pointers.

Anaya Brown finished the game with nine points, making five of her six foul shot attempts, and hauled in five rebounds.

A slow start for the Mustangs allowed UVA to jump out to the early lead after the Cavaliers went on a 9-0 run. Back-to-back three from Harriel was the answer SMU needed and trailed only 12-10 with 3;30 in the period. UVA went on another 9-0 run late in the first to extend the lead at the end of the quarter.

The Mustangs kept fighting and outscored Virginia 13-12 in the second quarter. SMU went on a 7-0 run halfway through the second, highlighted by back-to-back buckets from Harriel to cut the lead back down to single digits. UVA led 35-27 as Harriel scored 10 points in the first half, 4-of-6 shooting and made two three pointers. UVA shot 51.7% in the half.

Virginia took advantage of playing on its home court and went on a 20-0 run that lasted 7:17 minutes in the third quarter to go up 26 points. King ended the run with a three-pointer as the Mustangs were outscored 22-7 in the quarter and were 2-of-16 from the field in the period, while UVA was 11-of-17 from the floor in the third.

SMU kept fighting and scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as the Cavaliers held on for the victory. UVA's Kymora Johnson ended the game with 17 points and 10 assists.

// UP NEXT
The Mustangs will stay on the road and head to the Blue Grass State to face #13/13 Louisville on Thursday, January 1, inside the KFC Yum! Center. The game will tip off at 1 pm CT and air on ACCNX.

// OTHER NOTES

• In her first season at SMU, head coach Adia Barnes is now 7-7 and 175-121 overall in her career (10^th season)

// STEALS / TURNOVERS

• SMU ended the game with 7 steals.
  • SMU entered the game ranked 3^rd in the ACC / 38^th in the NCAA in steals per game (11.5)
• SMU forced 13 turnovers
  • SMU has now forced 260 turnovers this season
    • Entered the game 5^th in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (19.0).

// BLOCKS

• SMU had 1 blocks
  • SMU has now recorded 68 blocks this season. Mustangs entered the game 6^th in ACC / 39^th in the NCAA in blocked shots per game (4.8).

// FREE THROWS

• SMU was 10-17 from the line
  • Mustangs entered the game 4^th in the ACC / 90^th in the NCAA in free throw attempts per game (19.38) and 5^th in the ACC in free throws made per game (13.54).

// OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS

• SMU had 11 offensive rebounds
  • SMU entered the game 5^th in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (14.2)

// BENCH POINTS

• SMU had 19 bench points
  • Entered the game 5^th in the ACC / 53^rd in the NCAA in bench points (26.4).

// POINTS IN THE PAINT

• SMU had 22 points in the paint  
  • SMU has now scored over 30 points in the paint in nine games this season.

// STARTERS  
Starters: Paulina Paris (#23, G, Sr.), Zahra King (#2, G, So.), Ayanna Thompson (#1, G, Sr.), Miriam Ibezim (#33, G, R-Sr.) Sahnya Jah (#11, F, Jr.)