Women’s basketball: Virginia hosts Iowa Wednesday in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

The Virginia women’s basketball team (5-2) hosts No. 24 Iowa (6-1) in the ninth-annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.

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.

After jumping out to a 5-0 start, the best start to a season for the Cavaliers since 1997-98, Virginia has lost its last two games, falling to Rutgers, 60-48, and Tulane, 67-62, at the Paradise Jam.

Sophomore Lauren Moses (Mount Holly, N.J.) was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team after averaging 10.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds during the three games. Moses started the tournament with a quiet game in UVA’s win against Green Bay, scoring three points but grabbing eight rebounds, and then closed strong, averaging 14 points in the final two games.

Moses’ 18-point performance against Rutgers was the fourth-consecutive game in which a member of the UVA sophomore class had career-topping performances. Aliyah Huland El (Randolph, N.J.) scored 20 points in the road win at Auburn, matching that career high in the win over Longwood. On Thursday against Green Bay, Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) scored a career-best 25 points, surpassing her previous high mark of 22. The second-years have led the team in scoring in five of Virginia’s seven games this season.

Huland El, who has four games this season scoring double-digits, nearly had the first double-double of the season for the Cavaliers against Tulane, scoring nine points with a career-high 10 rebounds. Huland El’s 10 rebounds was also the first double-digit rebounding game for a Cavalier this season.

In last year’s Challenge, the ACC and Big Ten tied, each winning seven games, only the second tie in Challenge history. The ACC owns a 55-39 edge over the Big Ten in Challenge games and six Challenge titles. The Cavaliers have a 5-3 record all-time in the Challenge after falling 86-63 at Illinois last year. Iowa is 2-6 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge after falling on the road to Louisville last year.

Iowa is 2-0 all-time against the Cavaliers.

Including the Iowa game, Virginia plays eight of its next nine games at home. The Cavaliers will host NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. followed by an 11 a.m. contest onTuesday, Dec. 8 against Bowling Green before breaking for finals.

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).