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UVA women’s basketball hosts Longwood on Tuesday

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uva basketballThe UVA women’s basketball team (6-2) hosts Longwood (0-8) on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. in the first of three games this week for the Cavaliers. Virginia also hosts Saint Mary’s (CA) on Friday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. and Howard on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on WINA-1070 AM with Channing Poole and Myron Ripley calling the action.

The Cavaliers went into a nine-day exam break after a 100-62 victory over Delaware State, the first time in the last five years that the Cavaliers have topped the century mark in a contest. The Cavaliers shot a season-best 53.5 percent from the field against the Hornets. The victory over DSU also gave UVa a perfect 4-0 mark at John Paul Jones Arena this season with an average margin of victory of 21.5 points in those games.

Freshman guard Mikayla Venson (Arlington, Va.) had the best overall shooting performance for a Cavalier so far this season, going 8-of-10 overall (80.0 percent), including 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) from outside the arc and 3-of-3 from two-point range. Sophomore guard Breyana Mason (Woodbridge, Va.) also had a 5-of-7 three-point shooting performance this year in the opener against Ohio State.

Venson’s season-high 22 points was the sixth time this season that a Virginia player finished with 20 or more points in a game and makes her the fourth different Cavalier to reach the 20-point plateau.

In the last three games, Venson is 17-of-24 from the field, making 70.8 percent of her shots.

Mason scored 16 points against the Hornets, going 5-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Mason also had seven assists, the highest single-game total by a Cavalier this season. Mason is currently second in the ACC, averaging 4.5 assists per game. Mason, who finished the 2013-14 campaign with 37 assists, has 36 assists this season.

Senior center Sarah Imovbioh (Abuja, Nigeria) leads the ACC in rebounding (11.9 per game) and in offensive rebounds per game (5.6), ranking third in the nation in offensive rebounds per game and 11th in total rebounds per game. Imovbioh also ranks fifth in the ACC in field goal percentage (61.3), which ranks 12th in the nation. Imovbioh, who is averaging 14.5 points per game, is 14th in the conference in scoring average.

Junior guard Faith Randolph (Derwood, Md.) has scored in double-digits ever game this season, including contributing 15 points against Delaware State. Randolph is averaging 18.5 points per game, which ranks third in the ACC.

Longwood is coming off a 60-44 loss to UNC Asheville on Sunday, their second conference contest of the season. Kyndal Skersick leads the Lancers, averaging 10.6 points per game. Khalilah Ali is their leading rebounder, averaging 5.6 per game. The Lancers are shooting 34.1 percent this season and 27.6 percent from three-point range, averaging 53.9 points per game. Longwood’s opponents are averaging 24.7 more points and 12.6 rebounds per game than the Lancers.

This will be Longwood’s third game this year against an ACC school, falling 64-60 at Wake Forest in the season-opener and 74-42 at Virginia Tech on Dec. 2.

Virginia is 9-4 all-time against the Lancers and has won the last five meetings. Longwood’s last victory over Virginia was a 69-38 win on Nov. 19, 1979.

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 throughFriday 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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