Virginia, Liberty Await Gophers at Cav Classic

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (3-1, 0-0 B1G) will take on their first Power 5 opponent in Virginia (6-0, 1-0 ACC) at the 2022 Cav Classic in Charlottesville, Va., on Sat., Nov. 26. The Gophers will then take on the Liberty Flames (2-2, 0-0 ASUN) on Sun., Nov. 27, in Charlottesville. Both games can be watched on ACCNX and can be heard on KFAN+ or on the iHeartRadio app with Tanner Hoops and Lynette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA GAME

Minnesota's matchup with Virginia will be the sixth between the two programs with the last meeting coming in 2012 at Williams Arena, resulting in a 90-68 win for the Cavaliers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Minnesota is 29-18 overall against the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with Lindsay Whalen holding a 4-1 coaching record.
Virginia is coming off a 62-41 game against Campbell on Wed., Nov. 23.
Virginia was picked to finish 11th in the ACC Presesaon Poll.
The Cavaliers already have more wins than last season at 6-0 after only finishing 5-22 (2-14 ACC) in 2021-22. Virginia fell in the opening round of the ACC Tournament against Wake Forest 61-53.
Virginia's Alexia Smith played for the Gophers for two seasons before joining the Cavs. In five games, and one start, Smith is averaging 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and shooting 40 percent from the field this season.
Graduate forward Sam Brunelle was named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Katrina McClain Award. The annual award recognizes the top power forwards in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.

ABOUT THE LIBERTY GAME

Sunday's neutral-site matchup with the Flames will be just the second time the Gophers face off against Liberty.
The game for the Flames will be the third game in five days for Liberty after falling to James Madison 67-63 on Nov. 23, and taking on East Carolina on Nov. 26.
Liberty was picked to finish second in the ASUN Presesaon Poll. Both Mya Berkman and Dee Brown were selected as Preseason All-Conference.
Berkman is the team's leading scorer (12.0 ppg) and rebounder (7.5) and has shot an outstanding 77.3 percent from the floor.
Emma Hess is ranked 24th in the nation so far this season at 3-pointers per game at 3.0.
Last season Liberty was 28-5 (14-2 ASUN) and fell in the ASUN Tournament semifinals and reached the second round of the WNIT Tournament before falling to Vanderbilt 71-45.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Last time out the Maroon and Gold bounced back against Presbyterian (2-3, 0-0 Big South) at home in a 82-48 victory over the Blue Hose. Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux and Mallory Heyer both finished with double doubles in the win with Heyer scoring 19 in the 34-point win. In total the Golden Gophers got 43 points and 34 rebounds from their post players in the dominating victory and scored a season-high 52 points in the paint.
Minnesota's Mallory Heyer joined Mara Braun as a Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree after her performances against NDSU and Presbyterian. Heyer averaged 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds last week while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor (14-of-21).
Freshman Amaya Battle has continued to stuff the stat sheet this season for the Gophers, with the rookie ranked in the top 11 in four different categories in the Big Ten conference all while coming off the bench. As of Nov. 23, Battle is ranked 6th in assists per game (5.0), seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.3), ninth in blocks per game (1.5) and 11th in steals per game (2.3).
After starting her first game in 1,833 days (Nov. 10, 2017) against North Dakota State in place of injured Mara Braun, Mi'Cole Cayton made her second straight start against Presbyterian. Prior to the NDSU game Cayton's last start was at Cal in their 2017-18 season opening game.
Through four games the Gophers have been dominant on the glass with the team ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in rebounds per game at 49.5 and is also ranked at the top in offensive rebounds per game at 18.0. Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux is the team's leader at 9.5 rebounds per game and 4.0 offensive boards per contest which ranked her third and second in the conference, respectively.
Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen has announced the addition of five student-athletes on Nov. 16, that have signed National Letters of Intent or an Acceptance of Admission to join the Minnesota women's basketball program for the 2023-24 season. Signing NLIs with the Golden Gophers are Kennedy Klick, MyKynnlie Dalan, Ajok Madol and Dominika Paurová while Brynn Senden signed an Acceptance of Admission.

BY THE NUMBERS
57 - Minnesota's freshmen have scored an average of 57.9 points per game this season with Braun (21.3) leading the way.
22 - Under Lindsay Whalen the Maroon and Gold hold a record of 22-1 when scoring 80 or more points in a game.
1 - True freshman Mallory Heyer leads all Big Ten freshman in rebounds per game at 7.5, which is ranked seventh overall in the conference.
50 - The Golden Gophers have secured 50 or more rebounds in all three wins this season.
49 - The Maroon and Gold will aim to start quickly this weekend with head coach Lindsay Whalen holding a record of 49-15 when leading after the first quarter.

The University of Minnesota will have a quick turnaround next week with Wake Forest coming to Williams Arena for the 2022 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be the first time fans can see the Gophers on the Big Ten Network with the game also broadcast on KFAN+ and the iHeartRadio app.

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2022-23 season.

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Amaya Battle

Mara Braun

Mi'Cole Cayton

Mallory Heyer