The UVA women’s basketball team (6-2) heads into exam week after earning a 100-62 victory over Delaware State (1-7) on Saturday (Dec. 6) at John Paul Jones Arena.
After Delaware State tied the game, 11-11, on a pair of free throws seven minutes into the game, Virginia went on a 30-4 run, including a span in which UVa scored 18-straight points. The Cavaliers went into halftime with a 55-25 lead with three players already with double-digit points. Virginia outscored Delaware State, 45-37, in the second half. Freshman forward Jae’Lisa Allen (Pine Bluff, Ark.) scored a layup with 17 seconds remaining in the game, the first points of her career, to give UVa its first 100-point game since the Cavaliers scored 110 points in a Nov. 18, 2009 game against usc Upstate.
“It was a great team win,” said Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle. “I thought we had great energy throughout the game. We had to make this game about us, and not just get through the game. I loved that everybody got to contribute and that we got to play at a tempo that was conducive to us as well as having fun out there. I think that our pressing, which we will practice a lot over break, is good for speeding the game up. It helps us because we’re small, so anytime that we can jumpstart us a bit, it helps get our offense going.”
Virginia had five players finish the game scoring in double figures. Freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) had the first 20-point performance of her career, finishing with 22 points, going 8-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) scored 16 points while also dishing seven assists with three rebounds and three steals. Senior forward Sarah Beth Barnette (Lexington, Ky.) had a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the team while also scoring nine points with five assists a block and a steal.
“As a team we just came out and really played together,” Venson said. “Five people got into double digits and that’s because our team was putting each other in great positions. It was really a great team effort and I think that we played our hearts out today. We kind of had a chip on our shoulder today after the loss at Illinois which I think gave us that edge.”
Mikah Aldridge scored a team-high 17 points for the Hornets while Nikkei Blackburn had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Virginia shot a season-best 53.5 percent from the field, making 38 of 71 shots, and went 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from three-point range. Delaware State shot 36.2 percent overall but went 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from three-point range. Virginia outrebounded Delaware State, 45-34. The Cavaliers forced the Hornets to turn the ball over 17 times while only committing eight turnovers of their own. UVa had six different players block at least one shot in the game.
Mason scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half, playing 15 minutes in the opening period. Junior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) finished the game with 15 points, scoring 10 of those in the first half.
The Cavaliers will take a nine-day break for exams, returning to action on Tuesday, Dec. 16 when they host Longwood at 7 p.m. Virginia will not have another road game until the New Year when they open up ACC play on Jan. 4, 2015 at Virginia Tech.
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).
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Chris Graham
