Virginia Travels to Xavier for a Thursday Night Game

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Nov. 19, 2014

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (2-0) plays its first road contest of the year on Thursday, Nov. 20 against Xavier (2-0) at 7 p.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The game will be broadcast on the radio on WINA-1070 AM with Channing Poole and Myron Ripley calling the action. The Big East Digital Network will stream live video of the game via the FOX Sports GO app for free.

Virginia is 1-0 all-time against Xavier, with the Cavaliers defeating the Musketeers, 54-45, during the 2012 Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville.

Virginia opened the season with back-to-back home victories last weekend, defeating Ohio State, 87-82, and Radford, 75-47. The Cavaliers have started the season 4-0 in two of head coach Joanne Boyle’s previous three seasons at the helm.

Virginia has four players averaging in double-digits in scoring. 2014 ACC Sixth Player of the Year Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) has adjusted to her move into the starting lineup by averaging 18.0 points per game. Randolph scored 25 points in the season-opener, one shy of matching her career high. Randolph also has five assists and five steals this season while averaging 5.0 rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.), who averaged 3.5 points per game last season, is averaging 16.5 points per game. Mason went 5-of-7 from three-point range in the opener against Ohio State and is shooting 71.4 percent from beyond the arc this season. Overall, Mason has made 63.2 percent of her shots from the field. Additionally, Mason has a team-high 11 assists.

Freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.), one of two first-years in the starting lineup for Virginia, is averaging 11.5 points per game. Venson is the first Virginia player to start her collegiate career with back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts since Kelsey Wolfe did so in 2010. After going 3-of-12 from the field in the opener against Ohio State, Venson connected on six of her eight field goal attempts against Radford. Venson played a team-high 35 minutes in her collegiate debut and is averaging 29.0 minutes on the court.

Senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) is the fourth Cavalier with double-digit averages, posting 16.0 points per game and 16.5 rebounds per contst. Imovbioh was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week after setting the Virginia single-game rebounding record with 24 boards against Ohio State, and accounted for almost half of Virginia’s 51 total rebounds in the game. Against Radford, Imovbioh only played 20 minutes, but still nearly had another double-double with 14 points and 9 boards.

This season, Virginia already has 11 blocked shots. The Cavaliers finished last season with 42 and ranked 337th nationally out of 343 teams in that statistical category. Freshman forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) has four blocked shots, knocking down two attempts in each game. Imovbioh had four blocked shots last season. This year, she already has three.

Last season, Virginia led the conference last season and was ranked No. 16 in the nation with a +4.77 turnover margin. So far this season, Virginia is +7.0 in turnover margin. Against Radford, Virginia forced 20 turnovers while committing just five.

The Cavaliers have scored 36 points this season off turnovers while opponents have scored only nine points off UVa miscues.

Xavier has also started the season 2-0 and also has four players averaging double-figures. Maleeka Kynard leads the Musketeers at 12.5 points per game. Three other players, including former Cavalier Raeshaun Gaffney, are averaging 11.0 points per game. Kynard, a transfer from Ohio State, scored a team-high 14 points in just 15 minutes of action off the bench in the Musketeers 75-51 season-opening win over Wofford. The senior guard also had five steals.

Gaffney spent two years on the Cavaliers’ roster, sitting out the 2012-13 season with an injury before appearing in 27 games last year as a redshirt freshman, averaging 3.1 points per game.

Xavier defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 89-52, on Monday. Xavier had a 21-9 run in the first half and outscored UAPB 23-10 in the first nine minutes of the second half to build a 21-point lead (57-36). The Musketeers hit 55.2 percent of their shots from the floor in the second half and led by as many as 40 points in the closing seconds of the contest.

Virginia returns home to host Auburn on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.

Single-game ticket prices for all home games are $10 for Reserved seating, $8 for adult General Admission and $6 for youth (18 & under), senior (60 & over) and UVa faculty/staff General Admission. Fans may purchase home game tickets through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone and in person. The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).