Virginia Downs Charleston Southern, 85-65
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Dec. 18, 2015
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (8-3) earned an 85-65 victory over Charleston Southern (5-5) on Friday (Dec. 18) at John Paul Jones Arena.
Virginia, aided by a season-high 10 three-pointers, never trailed in the game en route to securing its third-straight victory. The Cavaliers were 10-of-24 from long range while the Buccaneers were 5-of-16 from outside the arc.
Sophomore guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) was one of five Cavaliers to finish the game in double figures, scoring 24 points, going 9-of-12 overall and 4-of-6 from three-point range, also adding six assists. Senior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) scored 17 points with eight assists, six rebounds and three steals.
Charleston Southern’s Alyssa Mann scored 20 points with four assists and four steals.
“We are very glad to come out of this game with a win,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “After nine days off, it was nice to get some of the rust off, especially on the defensive end of the floor. We were moving the ball pretty well against the zone once we figured a few things out. Mikayla [Venson] got us going when we were a little stagnant in the zone. She hit a few corner shots in the first half and that loosened things up. We started to relax and I thought we moved the ball better at the end of the third quarter.”
Virginia’s pressure defense caused early problems for the Buccaneers as UVA forced nine turnovers in the first quarter, including three in the first 1:27 of the game. Venson found her stroke early, scoring 10 points in the opening frame. Charleston Southern made the most of its early opportunities, shooting 72.7 percent (8-of-11) in the first quarter, including converting the final seven field goal attempts of the period, but trailed Virginia 25-18 at the start of the second quarter.
UVA built up its lead in the second quarter with a three-pointer from Venson with 5:39 remaining to put the Cavaliers up 34-21. Randolph hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half to send Virginia into the break with a 44-28 lead.
Charleston Southern went 5-of-7 from the field in the third to keep the game close, but Virginia scored eight unanswered points in a minute span late in the period to expand the lead to 24, 72-48, with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
The Buccaneers got the deficit back below 20, 77-58, after mounting a 6-0 run early in the fourth quarter, but Venson’s fourth three of the game halted the run.
Virginia outrebounded the Buccaneers 38-27. Charleston Southern shot 50.0 percent (27-of-54) and the Cavaliers made 49.2 percent of their shots (31-of-63). Charleston Southern committed 20 turnovers, with Virginia scoring 27 points off the miscues. UVA turned the ball over 16 times, with the Buccaneers capitalizing on it with 15 points.
Virginia will play at No. 10 Ohio State on Monday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio, before breaking for the holidays. UVA will be back in action on Monday, Dec. 28, hosting the two-day Cavalier Classic Tournament, presented by Holiday Inn University Area with Coppin State, Richmond and Lafayette competing in this year’s annual tournament.
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).