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No. 14 UVa Hosts Purdue Thursday In Big Ten/ACC Challenge
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The 14th-ranked Virginia women’s basketball team hosts Purdue on Thursday, Dec. 3, in John Paul Jones Arena. Tip-off is 7 p.m., and the game is part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The game will be broadcast over the airwaves on WINA 1070 in the Charlottesville area or on VirginiaSports.com through V Pass. Live statistics are available at VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia is coming off a 78-66 victory over South Dakota State in the championship game of the Reef Division of the Junkanoo Jam on Nov. 27. The Cavaliers won the tournament title and Paulisha Kellum (Upper Marlboro, Md.) was named the most valuable player of the division.
Virginia (5-1) is led by Preseason ACC Player of the Year and All-American Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.), who is averaging 19.3 points per game through the Cavaliers’ first six games. In the first game of the Junkanoo Jam, Wright had her first double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds vs. Indiana.
Kellum, meanwhile, set a new career high with 25 points vs. South Dakota State, and is averaging 10.0 points per game.
Chelsea Shine (Wayne, Pa.) has started all six of the Cavaliers’ contests and ranks second on the team by averaging 11.8 points per game. The sophomore leads the team by averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.
Whitny Edwards (Charlotte, N.C.) also had a career performance in the Bahamas, netting a personal-best 17 points vs. Indiana. She is averaging 9.0 points per game.
This is the third annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge and the Cavaliers are seeking their third-straight victory in the event. In 2007-08, Virginia dispatched Wisconsin at home, 84-60, and in 2008-09, UVa traveled to Illinois and earned a 63-39 victory.
Purdue is 3-3 after dropping a 64-59 contest at Pepperdine on Nov. 29. Brittany Rayburn leads the team by averaging 13.3 points per game, followed by Jodi Howell with 9.5 ppg and Samantha Woods with 9.5 ppg. Virginia and Purdue have never met in women’s college basketball action.
Thursday is the first of three-straight home contests for Virginia. The Cavaliers host James Madison on Sunday (Dec. 6) at 4 p.m. and Furman on Tuesday (Dec. 8) at 7 p.m.