Virginia women’s basketball returned to John Paul Jones Arena Sunday in hopes of breaking its losing streak in a win against Duke. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers (8-6, 0-3 ACC) fell behind early in the game and struggled to pull ahead, allowing the Blue Devils (10-5, 2-2 ACC) to win 60-56.
Virginia struggled to keep up with Duke at the beginning of the first quarter, committing four costly turnovers that helped the Blue Devils gain a 13-3 lead. However, a made jump shot by fifth year forward Camryn Taylor helped the Cavaliers find a rhythm around halfway into the quarter and begin to close the gap.
Virginia was able to score seven straight points following Taylor’s bucket, making the score 13-12. Graduate student forward Sam Brunelle was the leading scorer in the nine-point run, contributing five points to help Virginia catch up.
Unfortunately, Duke managed to get a few more points on the scoreboard before the first period ended thanks to multiple timely baskets from junior guard Reigan Richardson. The Blue Devils led 17-12 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Cavaliers were led by freshman guard Kymora Johnson, who knocked down a couple of jump shots. Although Duke led by as many as nine points in the second quarter, Virginia managed to close the gap to four points before finishing the half.
Taylor was a key player in the first half, leading all scorers with eight points. Looking at the team overall, Virginia will have attributed the deficit to its 21 percent mark from the field in the first half. In contrast, the Blue Devils shot 46 percent from the field.
After halftime, the Cavaliers still struggled to have successful shots. While Taylor scored nine more points and Johnson scored four points in the third period, other Virginia players struggled to supplement.
However, the Cavaliers managed to keep the gap between the two teams within single digits and finished the third quarter still just four points behind Duke. This close game set up the final period to be a nailbiter — with just two possessions Virginia could tie the score or even take the lead.
A three-pointer from junior guard Jillian Brown a couple of minutes into the final period increased tensions on the court, as the Cavaliers now trailed Duke by just three. However, the Blue Devils managed to hold onto the lead, keeping at least a two-possession lead between them and the Cavaliers.
With three seconds left in the game, Johnson made a layup to cut the deficit back to three, but Virginia was forced to foul immediately after. Two made free throws by senior center Kennedy Brown iced the game for Duke and cemented yet another ACC defeat for Virginia.
Even with the loss, the Cavaliers had some impressive achievements this game. Taylor led the Cavaliers in scoring with 17 points, and Virginia as a unit held Duke to only two made shots out of 18 attempts from the three-point line.
However, there are evidently still areas that need improvement. Although Taylor led the team in scoring, she fouled out for the first time this season halfway into the final period. Virginia shot 29.6 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range, showing a glaring efficiency problem that also surfaced in the team’s last outing against Georgia Tech.
Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton understands that there are some technical issues the team needs to address, but she still is confident that her squad can both improve and impress.
“Obviously, we want to win,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “Everybody wants to win. I still think we’re going to win. We just have to fix some things. I think once we get everybody to be on the same page and come bring their A-game on the same day we’re going to be a pretty good team.”
Agugua-Hamilton also emphasized that while there have been small improvements from game to game, she believes the process must be expedited if the Cavaliers are to make noise in the ACC this season.
“We grew in a lot of places, but at the same time we’re not growing fast enough,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “At this point, we’re in conference play so we all know we need to step it up. I know we can.”
The schedule does not get any easier for Virginia as they look to turn things around. The Cavaliers will be traveling to No. 6 NC State for their next conference matchup Thursday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and is set to stream on ACC Network.
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