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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia asserted forward Sarah Imovbiah early and the senior responded with a season-high 25 points to go along with 15 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers to a 91-49 victory over visiting Longwood Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

The win gives Virginia its fifth straight victory at home to open the season and improves the Cavaliers overall record to 7-2, while the Lancers fall to 0-9 this season.

Imovbiah scored nine points in the first five minutes of the game, as UVa utilized its size advantage in the paint early in the contest over an undersized Lancer squad.

"In the first half, Virginia exploited our lack of size to get some easy baskets but we did a pretty good job of containing the rest of their offense," said head coach Bill Reinson.

The Cavaliers held a 50-12 margin in points scored in the paint. Imovbiah was particularly effective, knocking down 16 of her 25 points inside the paint, as she finished 11-of-14 from the floor.

However, Imovbiah, a senior from Nigeria, had plenty of help from her teammates, as Faith Randolph finished the game with 14 points and Mikayla Venson (11), Aliyah Huland El (11), Lauren Moses (10) and Breyana Mason (10) finished the contest in double figures.

Longwood co-captain Raven Williams scored in double figures for the second straight game and for the fifth time in the past seven games, as the Richmond, Va., product poured in 15 of her 18 points in the first half. Williams knocked down 4-of-6 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes and led all scorers at the break.

Williams also posted a season-high five assists, as she led all players.

Deborah Headen scored in double figures for the second straight game, as the junior finished the night with 10 points.

The Lancers enjoyed perhaps their best start to a game this season, as the squad hit its first four shots of the contest. Williams was especially effective early in the game, where she connected for 12 points in the opening eight minutes and helped Longwood take a 19-15 advantage.

Leading at the break, 37-26, the Cavaliers took control of the game by hitting 11 of their first 12 shots throughout the first eight minutes of the second half and scoring 20 second half points off Longwood turnovers.  

"The game got away from us early in the second half,"Reinson said. "We started shooting the ball very quickly and it resulted in some fast break opportunities for Virginia."

The game against Virginia marked Longwood's fourth contest of the season against a school from a power-five conference, as the Lancers previously played games at Wake Forest, Florida and Virginia Tech. Longwood plays more games against teams from a power conference than any other team in the Big South this season.

The Lancers will play their fifth and final game against an opponent from a power-five conference on Friday, Dec. 19, as the squad travels to Clemson. The game from Littlejohn Coliseum is set to begin at 7 p.m.

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