We’ve had a few days to digest what we saw in the Virginia women’s basketball Blue-White Scrimmage this past weekend, so let’s break down some key takeaways from the scrimmage and what they mean for the 2024 UVA women’s basketball season:
Edessa Noyan is primed for a big sophomore year
Kymora Johnson and Olivia McGhee deservedly earned much recognition for how much they contributed in their first years at Virginia, but the third member of UVA’s freshman class from last season is also poised for a breakout year. Edessa Noyan played 28 games last season, starting three of them, and averaged almost 14 minutes played per game. On top of that, Noyan also earned valuable experience playing overseas with the U20 Swedish National Team at the 2024 Nordic Championship and FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket Championship.
Noyan seems to have taken all of that experience over the last 12 months and used it to prepare herself for a big year 2 at UVA, as she hit the first two shots of the Blue-White Scrimmage and led all scorers with 11 points. She was comfortable taking and making shots from various spots on the floor and knocked down her only three-point attempt. Look for Noyan to play big minutes in the Virginia front court this season.
Tons of new faces
While Noyan, Johnson, and McGhee headline a solid group of returners, Virginia totally revamped its roster with seven newcomers, including three freshmen and four transfers. Miami transfer Latasha Lattimore, who received a special mention from Coach Mox during the introductions about how UVA fans might see an in-game dunk this year, was the scrimmage’s second-leading scorer with six points. True freshmen Breonna Hurd and Payton Dunbar had five points apiece and North Carolina transfer RyLee Grays had two points.
Virginia is bigger and more athletic
This is not a knock on the past couple of years of Virginia women’s basketball rosters, but those teams, while talented, were held back by a lack of size down low. The Cavaliers had to play 6’2″ forwards like Camryn Taylor and London Clarkson at center because they had no other choice. While former Kansas State transfer Taylor Lauterbach gave Virginia a taller option at 6’7″, she played the least amount of minutes of any player on the team last season.
This year, things will be different. Not only did Virginia add another 6’7″ giant in Maryland’s Hawa Doumbouya, but the Cavaliers also have a pair of versatile and athletic 6’4″ forwards in Latasha Lattimore and RyLee Grays. Edessa Noyan is getting more comfortable playing inside out and stretching the floor as a 6’3″ forward. Don’t forget about the 6’2″ guard Olivia McGhee or the 6’2″ true freshman forward Breona Hurd. At the very least, Virginia should be a dominant rebounding team, a category where the Cavaliers were already one of the best in the ACC.
Injuries
Not playing in the scrimmage were Paris Clark, Hawa Doumbouya, Taylor Lauterbach, and Jillian Brown, who will miss the entire 2024-2025 season with an ACL injury she suffered back in May. It remains to be seen what the extent of the injuries are to Clark, Doumbouya, and Lauterbach, but it’s essential that the Cavaliers get Clark back on the floor as soon as possible, as she was Virginia’s third-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder a season ago.
Fast-paced as always
As usual, Virginia pushed the ball in transition to create fast-break opportunities early and often during the scrimmage. With some highly athletic players on the roster, it only makes sense for the Hoos to run in transition as often as possible. Keep an eye on Latasha Lattimore and RyLee Grays running the floor and see if they can build their connection with Kymora Johnson and Yonta Vaughn to create easy baskets for Virginia this season.
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