Virginia women’s basketball defeated Rider 78-51 at John Paul Jones Arena Wednesday evening. The Cavaliers (7-2, 0-0 ACC) started slow, but quickly picked up pace to out-rebound and outscore the Broncs (2-6, 0-2 MAA) in order to take home the win. All 12 Cavaliers who played scored in an impressive team effort, supported by strong individual performances out of the frontcourt.
With 3,676 in attendance for the game Wednesday night, the Cavaliers were looking for a strong start in the first period after fifth-year forward Camryn Taylor won the jump ball. However, they struggled to take the lead as the Broncs got on the scoreboard first.
Virginia shot at a high volume early, but struggled to make a majority of its shots in the opening quarter with just a 12.5 field goal shooting percentage. Seven out of its 11 points in the first quarter were from free throws — led by sophomore guard Cady Pauley who was four-for-four at the line.
After a quick break at the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers came into the second quarter much stronger offensively. Taylor scored a layup after a gritty offensive rebound, and graduate student forward Sam Brunelle shot a three-pointer to make the score 16-15 in favor of Virginia.
The score remained close, until Virginia began to pull further ahead less than halfway through the second quarter. Rider called a timeout in hopes to recoup and slow the Cavaliers, but it did not interrupt the 6-0 scoring run. Taylor was a defining player in this turnaround — scoring 10 points and rebounding eight shots in the first half. Junior guard Jillian Brown was also a big contributor thanks to a couple of transition layups.
The Cavaliers’ shooting percentage greatly increased — jumping from a 12.5 percentage in the first quarter to a 47.4 percentage in the second. They also out-rebounded the Broncs an impressive amount — leading 15-4. Despite the turnaround, Rider managed to keep the game within reach. At halftime, Virginia held a narrow 32-27 advantage.
When play resumed after halftime, the Cavaliers began to pull further ahead in the third period — leading by more than 10 points with still more than half of the quarter left. They had a 14-2 run and closed the third quarter with a 17-point lead, making the score 57-40.
Seven Cavaliers contributed to the lead by scoring points in the third period — including senior guard Alexia Smith with seven points and freshman forward Edessa Noyan with five. Noyan also scored her second three-pointer of the season on just her second attempt.
In the final period, the Cavaliers held the Broncs to just 11 points including a 17-2 run. Virginia refused to ease up, as its largest lead of the night occurred with just 45 seconds left in the game gaining a 27-point advantage. Freshman guard Olivia McGhee scored the last five points for Virginia — thanks to a three-pointer and a layup resulting from a turnover.
Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton was impressed with her team’s resilience after a shaky start.
“I’m really happy to see that we rallied, especially in the second half — and really in the second quarter,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “We beat them 21 to 12 [in the second]. It was really that first quarter that kind of had us rattled. I thought we were a little stagnant against the zone, but once we got going we saw some good things.”
Under Agugua-Hamilton, Virginia has improved its non-conference record to 18-2, and it has also improved its record in the all-time series to 6-0. With strong scoring contributions from starters and the second unit, the Cavaliers won by a 20-point margin for the sixth time this season.
Taylor recorded her ninth career double-double and first of the season after scoring 18 points and recording 13 rebounds. Noyan set a career-high and scored eight points, including her three-pointer.
Moving forward, the Cavaliers will need to focus on their first quarter offense to avoid early deficits. However, with their already-strong rebounding skills and ability to turn around a game as a team, it will be very feasible for them to make this happen.
Virginia will be taking a much-needed nine-day hiatus before returning to John Paul Jones Arena to face Wofford (6-4, 0-0 SoCon) Dec. 16 at 1 p.m.
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