The 20th ranked Cavaliers look to play host to Samford, Liberty and Cornell on tomorrow and Tuesday, December 28-29, in the Marriott Cavalier Classic. Interesting, all four teams are coming off losses and will be hungry to turn keep their seasons going strong.
The Hoos are 7-3 on the season, with two of the three losses coming to then 6th ranked Tennessee and 12th ranked Georgia. Virginia are the clear favorites in this tournament, as they face Samford in the first round at 7:00 p.m. Samford (8-4) has gone 2-3 in the past five games, with losses coming to Furman, Mississippi and UNC Greensboro. Virginia beat Furman earlier in the season 74-43.
Samford is led by junior guard Emily London, who averages 13.8 points per game and has 24 steals on the season.
Virginia will be leaning on senior guard Monica Wright, who just scored her 2,000th-career point, against Georgia, becoming just the third-ever Cavalier to do so. Wright is now in third place on Virginia's all-time scoring list with 2,011 points and trails No. 2 Heather Burge (2,058 points) and No. 1 Dawn Staley (2,135 points). Wright was the 19th player in ACC history to pass the milestone.
Liberty currently has an overall record of 6-2 on the young season. The Lady Flames are coming off a 70- 64 loss at Auburn on Dec. 15.
Cornell has an overall record of 5-4 entering this week's tournament. The Big Red is coming off a 101-62 loss to Miami on Dec. 21.
This week's tournament marks the 24th Cavalier Classic. Virginia has won 20 of the previous 23 events, including the last five tournaments in a row.