Virginia’s season thus far has been defined by two types of games — a loss in which the offense disappears at times, or a win in which the highly talented offense thrives. Sunday, the Cavaliers (6-2, 0-0 ACC) chose the latter at John Paul Jones Arena.
“I think our team is at our best when we’re confident, and I think that we just regained our confidence,” Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said.
Shaking off the rust from Tuesday's loss against Nebraska, Virginia blasted UMES 92-59 for the program’s 999th all-time win. The Hawks (5-5, 0-0 MEAC) were overwhelmed by a balanced attack in which the Cavaliers made a season-best 54 percent of their shots.
“I thought it was a really good game,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “Thought it was a slow game, but we weathered the storm.”
The solution to weathering “the storm” came from a barrage of three-point shots — Virginia downed 42.1 percent of its attempts, a mark significantly higher than the team’s 32.2 percent average this season. The Cavaliers also turned the ball over three fewer times than their average of roughly 12 per contest.
“Maryland Eastern Shore did a lot of things, switching up defenses which made it a slower game,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “Then they were trying to press us, get us out of rhythm. I was really happy with how we handled all that.”
As per usual, Virginia’s offense was led by junior guard Kymora Johnson, who finished with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Johnson has scored 20 or more points in five of the Cavaliers’ eight games this year.
Graduate guard Romi Levy was once again a co-star with 14 points, netting six of seven attempts from the field — plus six rebounds, a career-high four blocks and two assists. Aside from Johnson and Levy, instead of senior guard Paris Clark completing the list of standouts, it was a cohort of Cavaliers that kept the Hawks at bay.
Senior forward Tabitha Amanze recorded 17 points on 80 percent shooting, with a side of nine rebounds. Amanze, who has now started every game for Virginia at center, has risen to become the team’s second leading scorer with 10.1 points per game.
Rounding out the double digit scorers, graduate guard Jillian Brown contributed 15 points — all of which came in the second half — and freshman guard Gabby White added 10.
“We really shared the ball — everything was spread around,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “So, just really proud of our group.”
Absent from the list of double digits scorers, though, was Clark — who scored three points on a trio of free throws in 22 minutes of play. On a Virginia team with an abundance of offensive talent, there remains an untapped potential of every Cavalier having one of their best scoring outputs in the same game.
However, with a trip to No. 17 Vanderbilt on tap Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., Virginia will get an opportunity to prove itself against its first ranked opponent of the season.
“I just want us to be confident,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “We got in a good rhythm offensively.”
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