The Virginia women’s basketball team (12-5, 2-1 ACC) hosts No. 23 Louisville (12-5, 4-0 ACC) on Thursday, January 14 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 AM and 98.9 FM 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 game, available with a paid Cavaliers Live subscription.
The Cavaliers, who are receiving votes in this week’s USA Today Coaches’ Poll, will be facing a ranked opponent for the third time in four games. UVA is 1-3 this year against ranked teams, including a 76-56 victory over No. 22 Miami on Jan. 3.
UVA is coming off a 52-50 comeback victory at Wake Forest on Sunday (Jan. 10). Virginia trailed through most of the game and was down seven points, 49-42, with 7:42 remaining in the game, but the Cavaliers went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the quarter to erase the deficit and edge past the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest committed 31 turnovers in the game, a season-high for the Deacons. It was the second-straight game in which the Cavaliers’ opponent had a season-high for turnovers after causing Notre Dame to turn the ball over 19 times. The 31 turnovers was also the most by a UVA opponent since Maryland Eastern Shore committed 35 in a game in December of 2014 and the second most by an ACC team this year. Virginia has had fewer turnovers than its opponent in every game this season except the Ohio State game. UVA is third in the ACC with a +5.5 turnover margin (+7.0 in ACC games).
Virginia ranks 14th nationally in turnover margin, 21st in turnovers forced (20.76), 32nd in total steals (159) and 33rd in free throw percentage (74.4).
Sophomore guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) scored 20 points against the Deacons, her fifth 20-point game of the season. Venson, who leads the ACC in free throw percentage at 86.2 percent, was 7-of-7 from the line. Venson is also sixth in the ACC in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game.
The Cavaliers are 2-1 all-time against the Cardinals. The two teams split a pair of ACC games last season with UVA falling 67-55 at Louisville but defeating the then No. 8 Cardinals 75-59 in the 2014-15 regular-season finale. In last year’s upset win at JPJ, the Cavaliers closed out the final eight minutes of the game on a 28-10 run.
Louisville has won nine-straight games, including earning its third victory over a top-25 team on Sunday(Jan. 10) when it upset No. 18 Duke 65-48. Louisville held Duke to 39.1 percent shooting, outrebounded the Blue Devils 42-36, and turned 22 turnovers into 27 points for its ninth-consecutive victory.
Louisville ranks 12th in the country in turnover margin (+5.82), 18th in turnovers forced (21.00), 27th in offensive rebounds per game (15.9), 29th in assists per game (16.8) and 30th in steals per game (10.6).
The Cavaliers travel to Georgia Tech this weekend, taking on the Yellow Jackets on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. followed by a Thursday, Jan. 21 game at No. 14 Florida State. Virginia will be back in action at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday, Jan. 24, hosting Pittsburgh at 1 p.m.
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).
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Chris Graham
