The UVA women’s basketball team (2-0) closed out its opening home stand by defeating Radford (0-1), 75-47, on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 16) at John Paul Jones Arena.
Virginia had four players end the game in double-figures. Freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) had her second-straight double-digit scoring effort, putting up 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) scored 14 points with nine rebounds in 20 minutes on the court. Sophomore guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) and junior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) each contributed 11 points. Mason also dished out five assists.
Radford’s Janayla White was the only Highlander in double-figures, scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game with 3:32 remaining.
“I’m glad to end the weekend 2-0,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “I thought we started slow but came out strong in the second half. We were not planning on playing much zone, but when every one of our post players had two fouls in the first half, we came out a little more conservative. Since it was working, we stuck with it. The press is something we’ve used in the past and it was quite effective today. We got quite a few turnovers and points off those turnovers with it.”
Virginia never trailed in the game, holding a 31-21 advantage at halftime and outscored the Highlanders 44-26 after the break. Virginia forced 20 turnovers, with seven different Cavaliers getting at least one steal, scoring 21 points off the miscues. Radford outrebounded Virginia 43-38, scoring 23 second-chance points to Virginia’s 13.
“We have a lot of weapons,” Randolph said. “We have great post players down low. We have Mikayla at point guard who can shoot as well and we have wing players like Breyana and myself. We have really balanced scoring.”
Neither team was sharp from three-point range with the Highlanders making just one of 18 and the Cavaliers going 2-of-14. Virginia shot 36.4 percent overall in the first half but improved to 54.5 percent in the second half. Radford went 8-of-27 from the field in the first half as well as in the second half.
Virginia will play its first road contest of the season on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., facing Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio, before returning home to host Auburn on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.
Single-game ticket prices for all 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 Mondaythrough 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).
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Chris Graham
