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On Tuesday, seven ACC teams, including three top-25 teams — No. 5 Louisville, No. 18 Syracuse and No. 25 Miami — began their regular seasons. All seven won in their regular-season debuts.
Louisville beat Western Kentucky 102-80 in their Tuesday win on the road, with 2019 WNBA Draft prospect Asia Durr scoring 33 points in just 21 minutes while also making 7-of-15 from three-point range. For Western Kentucky, Alexis Brewer scored 22 points.
Miami dominated inter-city rival Florida International, 94-43. Junior guard Sarah Mortensen scored 24 points, all off of her 8 three-pointers. If you are a European basketball fan, Miami could be the ACC team you want to root for because three players are from Europe. Mortensen comes from Denmark, while Hurricane starters redshirt junior guard Laura Cornelius and senior center Emese Hof are from the Netherlands.
Syracuse had no problem beating North Dakota at home in an 85-49 win. Freshman Emily Engster and redshirt sophomore Kiara Lewis scored 13 points each for the Orange to lead the way. Lexi Klabo scored 12 points to lead North Dakota.
On Wednesday, No. 17 NC State and Pittsburgh began their seasons with split results. NC State beat Belmont 77-62 but were actually down 36-29 after the first half of their game. Grace Hunter shot 8-of-11 from the field to lead the Wolfpack with 16 points while Jenny Roy scored 14 points to lead the Bruins despite their loss.
The ACC’s undefeated streak came to an end when UCF edged out Pittsburgh 61-58 after a strong 20-11 fourth quarter from UCF. Kay Kay Wright scored 16 points to lead the Golden Knights, while Aysia Bugg scored 14 for Pitt.
Games of the week
Virginia Cavaliers vs. No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs
When: Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA
How to watch: ACC Network
Notes: This is the Cavaliers’ first game of the season. Tina Thompson will make her head coaching debut for UVA with a team that made the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, Mississippi State is coming off a second consecutive national championship game appearance.
No. 18 Syracuse Orange at No. 3 Oregon Ducks
When: Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. ET
Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, OR
How to watch: Oregon Live Stream
Notes: Two of the country’s top teams will clash in an early-season matchup. For the Orange, a road win against a top-3 team would give them a big boost in the rankings and NCAA Tournament seeding down the road.