Virginia Plays at No. 4 Notre Dame Thursday

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Feb. 4, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (15-7, 5-4 ACC) begins a stretch of three-straight games against ranked opponents when it plays at No. 4 Notre Dame (21-2, 8-1 ACC) on Thurs., Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on WINA-1070 AM with Channing Poole and Chelsea Shine calling the action. Live streaming video will be available online on ESPN3 and through the WatchESPN app with Jimmy Moley and Connor Clingen calling the action.

The Irish lead the ACC in scoring offense, averaging 85.1 points per game, scoring 24 more points per game than their opponents. Notre Dame is shooting 50.2 percent as a team, the second-best shooting percentage in the nation. Jewell Lloyd leads the ACC in scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game. Brianna Turner leads the nation in shooting percentage, making 67.6 percent of her shots.

The Cavaliers are 2-1 all-time against the Irish with victories in 1981 and 1988 and 0-1 in ACC games. Last season, the Irish held off an upset bid by the Cavaliers, with the second-ranked Irish winning 79-72 at John Paul Jones Arena. This will be the second time this season Virginia has played a team ranked No. 4, falling 67-55 at then-No. 4 Louisville on Jan. 18.

In Virginia’s last three games, there have been a combined 28 lead changes and 23 ties. Against Georgia Tech, there were 15 ties and 12 lead changes with the Yellow Jackets overcoming a 10-point deficit. Against NC State, there were six ties and nine lead changes with the Cavaliers overcoming an eight-point deficit. In the Clemson game, there were seven lead changes and two ties.

The Cavaliers are coming off a 77-72 victory on Sunday (Feb. 1) at Clemson. In the first half, Virginia relied on its hot shooting, hitting on 62.1 percent (18-of-29) of, including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from three-point range. The Cavaliers started the game making six of their first nine three-point attempts including freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.), who started the game 2-of-2 from three-point range. Venson, who set the school record in three-point efficiency in a game with a 6-of-6 performance against NC State, had made eight consecutive three-pointers before missing her first attempt in the second half. Freshman guard Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) was also 2-of-2 from three-point range in the half.

In the second half, the Cavalier post players stepped up their game with senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) scoring 11 points with nine rebounds after halftime and freshman forward Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) scoring seven points with seven rebounds. After getting just two offensive rebounds in the first half, the Virginia posts had nine in the second half. Both Moses and Imovbioh finished the game with double-doubles, the first time two Virginia players had them in the same game since Ataira Franklin and Whitney Edwards accomplished the feat at NC State in 2011. Moses ended the game with 10 rebounds and a career-high 15 points, giving her the first double-double of her career. Imovbioh finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, her 10th double-double of the season.

Venson was named the ACC Freshman of the Week for the week, her first career ACC honor. Venson averaged 17.0 points and shot 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from 3-point range last week, while helping to lead the Cavaliers to a pair of victories over NC State and Clemson. Venson was 6-of-6 from three-point range in the victory over NC State, setting the Virginia school record for three-point efficiency in a game. With Virginia trailing by five points with five minutes left in the game, Venson scored eight-straight points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers, in a span of 2:18 to give Virginia a 63-60 lead. Imovbioh is the other Cavalier to earn an ACC weekly honor this season. She was named the Player of the Week after her opening weekend performance against Ohio State.

The Virginia shooters combined to make 10 three-pointers at Clemson, the fifth time this season that the team made 10 or more three-pointers in a game. The Cavaliers shot 52.6 percent from three-point range at Clemson, the third time this season (and the third time in the last six games) they made more than 50 percent of their three-pointers. In the last two games, the Cavaliers are 21-of-34 from three-point range (61.7 percent). Virginia is now second in the ACC in three-point shooting efficiency at 36.4 percent

Virginia returns home to host No. 15 Duke on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. and No. 9 Florida State on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 1 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).