After months of anticipation, the long-awaited Virginia’s women’s basketball season has arrived — and the campaign began with a resounding home victory over Morgan State. The Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0 ACC) beat the Bears (0-1, 0-0 MEAC) Tuesday by a score of 86-36 at John Paul Jones Arena.
Coming off of a disappointing season, finishing 17-15 overall and 8-10 in the ACC, Virginia had something to prove coming into the opener. In their exhibition game last Thursday, the Cavaliers blew out Frostburg State, 99-38, but there is always the question if that momentum will translate into the regular season — the answer is it certainly did.
Out of the gate, junior guard Kymora Johnson was on roll, scoring 11 of Virginia’s first 20 points. The Charlottesville native was recently ranked No. 15 on ESPN’s Top 25 NCAA women’s basketball players, the first time in program history that a player has shown up on the prestigious list.
“I don’t really think I feel a lot of pressure,” Johnson said. “And if I do, I have my team that is giving to me everyday, and they take that load off of me. I’m blessed to be able to put Virginia on the map.”
The first quarter was nothing but dominance by the Cavalier offense, finishing with a 27-8 lead. The Bears came out in the second quarter attempting three-point shots, but the Virginia defense responded with stop after stop. Morgan State seldom got second chances, as graduate guard Romi Levy had eight rebounds just midway through the quarter.
Throughout the first half, the Cavaliers outpaced the Bears in nearly every category. Sinking 11 of 13 free throw attempts was the most impressive stat, considering that the team struggled in making them last year.
Going into halftime, the Cavaliers had essentially already won the game, up 53-17. Fans were relaxed in their seats, watching students from the crowd take three-point shots to win free Virginia merchandise. The Marching Band was playing the “U-V-A” chant and CavMan was on his feet dancing.
“Before the game, I just thought, let’s play with joy,” Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “But you know, no matter who we’re playing — it doesn’t matter if we’re playing the number one team in the country or playing a division two like we did for the exhibition game, I want us to be consistent, and it’s about us.”
At the start of the third quarter, it was clear that the Cavaliers were ready to have some fun. At the 7:25 minute mark, the crowd erupted as Levy’s shot fell into the net — her 1000th career point in her first game at JPJ. Although the clock did not stop, during the next timeout, Levy high-fived her teammates with a huge smile on her face.
“I’m just happy to be here — I’m happy to be here with Coach Mox and around the team,” Levy said. “I’m surrounded by the best people that can just make me better.”
At 63-24, Coach Agugua-Hamilton started to make substitutions, giving everyone a chance to get some time in. Off the bench, junior guard Raiane Dias Dos Santos and junior guard Olivia McGhee both sank a three-point shot, giving a glimpse of the depth Virginia’s bench has.
Heading into the fourth quarter, it turned into Virginia trying to run out the clock and Morgan State trying to limit an outrageous deficit. But the Cavaliers kept their foot on the gas, even sneaking in a quick three-point shot with two seconds left. Virginia won the game 86-36, its first of the season.
Overall, the win was a productive start to the season, the Cavaliers played solid basketball throughout. However, there is always room for improvement, especially with ball handling. Despite only coughing up seven turnovers in the first half, by the end of the game Virginia had 16, only four less than the Bears. The team also only went 6-27 from three-point range.
“We need to improve turnovers — that plagued us just a little bit,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “But I think we did some really good things defensively on the ball, shooting gaps. Rebounding was really great… but turnovers, we have to get better at that.”
Even with these shortcomings, the Cavaliers started the season on the best foot possible with a strong double-digit win. Virginia returns to action on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against Bucknell, a Patriot League opponent.
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