Virginia women’s basketball picked up its fourth consecutive win on Sunday evening, defeating Bethune-Cookman 82-48 at John Paul Jones Arena to wrap up a four-game homestand. Here are our five takeaways from UVA’s victory to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Sunday evening saw the Cavaliers conclude a four-game stretch in which they faced Radford (currently 1-6), La Salle (3-3), Alabama State (2-2), and Bethune-Cookman (2-4). It’s not exactly a gauntlet but it allowed Virginia to work out some kinks and rebuild some confidence after the humbling loss at Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago, all while stacking some easy wins. After a slow shooting start, Virginia broke the game open with a 24-9 second quarter and took care of business once again. In those four “tune-up games”, UVA won by an average of 35 points per game. It also should be noted that Virginia was without Edessa Noyan and Paris Clark on Sunday. Clark has missed the last three games, but Coach Mox didn’t seem to think she’d be out for very long.
Virginia’s big second quarter had a lot to do with Olivia McGhee, who scored 11 points in the second period alone, making four of her five shots and collecting three rebounds. Kymora Johnson also tallied 10 points and made all four of her shots in the second quarter to help the Cavaliers seize control of the game. McGhee ultimately finished with game-high 20 points, her second-career 20-point game. She shot 7/12 from the floor and 4/7 from beyond the arc and posted six rebounds, one assist and one steal. Though she has come off the bench all season, McGhee has scored in double figures in five of Virginia’s six games and four of the last five.
These two players are at opposite ends of their respective careers, but both Breona Hurd and Taylor Lauterbach delivered standout performances on Sunday. Hurd continued her impressive freshman campaign with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. She missed all three of her three-point attempts, but was 5/6 from the free throw line. Lauterbach, meanwhile, came on strong late in the game, tallying seven points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter to record her first-career double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The graduate center also went 2/2 from three-point range.
Since returning to the lineup after missing the first couple of games, Yonta Vaughn has changed the look of this UVA offense, allowing Kymora Johnson to operate off ball and more and more frequently facilitating Virginia’s offense herself. Vaughn scored in double figures in each of her first two games on the floor, but has scored just seven total points in her last two games. In lieu of creating her own shots, Vaughn has been excellent at creating for her teammates, dishing out seven assists against Alabama State on Wednesday and then recording nine assists against Bethune-Cookman on Sunday. For the season, Vaughn has 25 total assists to just seven turnovers. Coach Mox has called Johnson and Vaughn a “two-headed monster” at the point guard position. They are the engine that makes the Virginia offense hum.
Thanksgiving break will send Coach Mox and the Hoos to San Juan for the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout. There, the Cavaliers will play three games in as many days against Green Bay (3-2), Washington State (2-2), and Wyoming (2-3). It’s not nearly the same competition level as last year’s trip to the Cayman Islands, where UVA faced Tulane and LSU. But it’s still three more opportunities for the Cavaliers to test themselves in a neutral court setting.
The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women’s Basketball Throttles Alabama State
UVA Women’s Basketball Crushes Alabama State 85-50 | Key Takeaways
The Plus/Minus: UVA Women’s Basketball Overwhelms La Salle
UVA Women’s Basketball Smothers La Salle 76-47 | Key Takeaways
