Virginia Hosts Cavalier Classic

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Dec. 27, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (8-4) closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule by hosting the Cavalier Classic Presented by Holiday Inn University Area on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 28-29, 2015. For the second-straight year, the tournament will be played in a true classic format with the match-ups predetermined and no tournament champion crowned. Virginia will play Coppin State (2-8, 0-0 MEAC) on Monday and Richmond (6-5, 0-0 A10) on Tuesday. Both games will take place at 7 p.m. Lafayette (2-7, 0-0 Patriot) faces Richmond on Monday and Coppin State on Tuesday with both of those games starting at 4:30 p.m.

All of the 2015-16 Virginia women’s basketball games – home and away – are available locally on NewsRadio 1070 WINA and streaming online at wina.com and VirginiaSports.com with Channing Poole calling the action. There will also be a live video stream of the Virginia games, available with a paid Cavaliers Live subscription.

All four teams are suffered losses before breaking for the holidays. Richmond is on a three-game slide, including falling 44-33 at Wake Forest right before the break in a game in which they shot just 21.5 percent (14-of-65). Coppin State has lost its last five games, including falling 69-54 against Auburn after losing three-straight games to ACC teams (Miami – 78-59; Syracuse 88-56; Virginia Tech 72-39). Lafayette has lost its last two contests, including a 72-59 home loss against Colgate.

Virginia is coming off a 93-73 loss at No. 9 Ohio State last Monday (Nov. 21). A 24-point game from sophomore Mikayla Venson and a 26-point performance from senior Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) were not enough as the Cavaliers suffered their only 20-point defeat this season. Venson and Randolph combined to make 16 of Virginia’s 25 field goals, shooting 44.4 percent (16-of-36) while the rest of the team went 9-of-34 (26.4 percent).

After hitting a then-season-high 10 threes against Charleston Southern, UVA made 11 at Ohio State. Venson had her best three-point shooting game of the year, going 4-of-5 from long range with Randolph 4-of-6. Sophomore Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) came off the bench to go 3-of-6 from three-point range.

In the month of December, Venson is averaging 19.6 points per game, helping her move into the top-10 in the ACC in scoring, ranking No. 8 at 15.3 points per game. Sophomore Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) is averaging 10.4 points and 8.8 rebounds in that same five-game span and has moved up to No. 7 in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.4 boards per game this season.

Virginia is 3-0 all-time versus Coppin State. The Eagles last played in the Cavalier Classic in 2013, with Virginia logging a 70-45 victory. Virginia holds a 14-3 all-time record against Richmond with the last meeting between taking place in the 2012 WNIT with Virginia earning a 68-55 victory. Lafayette played in the 1990 Cavalier Classic, falling 103-41 to UVA and Illinois.

Virginia opens up Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sunday, Jan. 3, hosting No. 23 Miami at 1 p.m. followed by a showdown with No. 3 Notre Dame on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.

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).