UVA women’s basketball wins at Xavier, 71-62

The UVA women’s basketball team (3-0) earned its first road victory of the season, defeating Xavier (2-1) 71-62 on Thursday (Nov. 20) in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Junior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) scored 26 points, matching her career high. Senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) had her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Former Cavalier Raeshaun Gaffney, playing in her first season with Xavier, led the Musketeers with 15 points.

“It’s great to get a win away from John Paul Jones Arena,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “We locked down in the last three minutes. The players were saying to each other in the huddle ‘we win the last three minutes,’ which is a good place to be. Faith had another great game and is really coming into her own. When I need a big bucket, I am calling her name and she is delivering every time. She is locking down on defense and doing it all for us right now.”

Virginia led nearly the entire game, taking a 37-25 lead into halftime. Xavier made just one three pointer on 11 attempts in the first half, but went 7-of-14 after the break, including Jada Byrd hitting a three-pointer as time expired, to cut the final deficit to single digits.

The Cavaliers were 3-of-7 from three-point range and 10-of-12 from the free throw line, shooting 46.8 percent overall from the field.  Virginia outrebounded Xavier, 44-33, with UVa scoring 17 second-chance points.

Freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) scored five points with six rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) scored six points with six assists.

Randolph was 8-of-14 from the field, including going 2-of-2 on her three-point attempts, and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Her 26 points matched her final tally last season against Florida State. This was Randolph’s second 25-point performance of the season.

Virginia returns home to host Auburn on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. There will be a pregame FanZone on the concourse and a postgame autograph session.

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 openMonday 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).