The Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team kicked off the Blue-White Scrimmages on Saturday evening inside John Paul Jones Arena, taking care of business against the male scout team 36-29.
Kymora Johnson, Olivia McGhee, Payton Dunbar, Edessa Noyan, and Latasha Lattimore made up the first five for the ‘Hoos with Yonta Vaughn, RyLee Grays, and Casey Valenti-Paea the first three to come off the bench in both halves.
Here are four takeaways from our first look at the ‘Hoos in year three of the Coach Mox era.
Edessa Noyan looks primed for an expanded role
The least-heralded member of Coach Mox’s 2023 recruiting class that also included highly touted prospects Kymora Johnson and Olivia McGhee, Noyan looks like she’s ready to take a big step forward this season.
The sophomore forward from Sweden finished with an efficient 11 points to lead all scorers in the Blue-White Scrimmage, showing off an array of post moves while also stepping back beyond the arc to knock down her only three-point attempt of the evening.
Noyan averaged just 2.9 points per game during her freshman campaign, but showed flashes of brilliance. Albeit on a small sample size, she led the squad in field goal percentage (.500) for the season and scored a career-high 13 points (6-8 FG) in Virginia’s WBIT win over High Point in March.
Keep an eye on Noyan to step into a starting role (as she did in the scrimmage) and become a key contributor this season for the ‘Hoos.
Latasha Lattimore is ready to hold down the paint
Replacing the production of former All-ACC forward Camryn Taylor was a major objective for Coach Mox this season in the portal, and securing Miami transfer Latasha Lattimore was a big step toward filling that hole.
Lattimore put her athleticism on display on Saturday evening, finishing with six points while skying for several impressive rebounds. At 6-foot-4, Lattimore also brings an element of length that the ‘Hoos didn’t have last season.
Lattimore was the starting center for the ‘Hoos in both halves and while Virginia struggled to limit second-chance opportunities early on, once she found her rhythm in the second half the ‘Hoos had no problem grabbing boards and soaring back from a 20-11 halftime deficit.
Coach Mox has another crop of impressive freshmen
After enrolling Kymora Johnson, Olivia McGhee, and Edessa Noyan last season, Coach Mox stayed hot on the high school recruiting circuit, bringing in three more exciting freshman this season in Breona Hurd, Kamryn Kitchen, and Payton Dunbar. And despite playing in their first live JPJ action on Saturday evening, the newcomers were ready to go in the Blue-White Scrimmage.
Payton Dunbar — a 5-foot-11 guard from Narrows, Va. — got the start for the ‘Hoos and finished with five points while knocking down her only three-point attempt. Dunbar reclassified up into the class of 2024 to join the ‘Hoos this season but has a smooth shooting stroke and a lengthy frame for a guard.
Breona Hurd — a four-star forward from Waynesville, Mo. — also finished with five points in the scrimmage. Though listed as a forward at 6-foot-2, Hurd looked incredibly mobile and showed an ability to put the ball on the floor, knocking down a nifty turnaround jumper in the first half after being the fourth player off the bench in the rotation.
With many core pieces from last season returning and a nice crop of veteran transfers, the ‘Hoos don’t necessarily need much from their freshmen to have a successful 2024-25 campaign. But as we saw last season, Coach Mox knows how to find young players who can make an instant impact.
The ‘Hoos can’t squash the injury bug
The Virginia program has been plagued by injuries throughout the Coach Mox era. The ‘Hoos had to turn down a WNIT bid two seasons ago due to a lack of available bodies and saw a revolving door of players miss games last winter.
And now on Saturday, the ‘Hoos were without four players in the Blue-White Scrimmage: Paris Clark, Hawa Doumbouya, Jillian Brown, and Taylor Lauterbach. Of course, it was just a scrimmage so there’s no reason to believe anyone would’ve been out of uniform had it been a real game, but it’s certainly disheartening to see several key players banged up already.
