Kymora Johnson is the unquestioned leader of Virginia’s offense. But on nights where the junior guard struggles to score, the Cavaliers (8-3, 0-0 ACC) usually fall flat. Now, however, the team has evolved with the return — and debut — of a new superstar.
Junior forward Sa’Myah Smith made her home debut in the starting lineup Wednesday in Virginia’s 76-50 win over Howard — leading Virginia with 18 points and eight rebounds. A transfer from LSU, Smith had not played in the team’s first nine games while she recovered from a knee procedure. Now healthy, she had her way against the Bison (7-5, 0-0 Mid-Eastern).
Most importantly, for the first time all season, Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton could start her ideal lineup sans-major injuries — Johnson at point guard and Smith at power forward, plus senior Paris Clark at shooting guard, graduate Romi Levy at small forward and senior forward Tabitha Amanze at center. That lineup moved the ball well, as the Cavaliers recorded 20-plus assists for the second time all year.
“Really proud of our players,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I thought that was a great team win.”
That starting lineup combined for 57 of the team’s 76 points. Smith was particularly dominant, exploding for 12 points in the first quarter to build a 31-13 lead.
“First half, but especially in the first quarter, I thought we were really dominant,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I loved how aggressive we were offensively. We were executing even in transition — we were getting whatever we wanted.”
Clark, Levy and Amanze all contributed at least nine points plus a handful of rebounds and assists in support of Smith’s performance.
That quartet masked an uncharacteristically slow night for Johnson, who scored just two points in the game’s final 30 minutes. Johnson made only three of her 15 shot attempts. Johnson did manage to contribute seven rebounds and six assists, though, compiling a balanced statline in her team-high 33 minutes of action.
Howard did present a challenge through junior guard Zoe Stewart — who tallied 18 points, although she also attempted a game-high eight three-point attempts. Johnson and company eventually held Stewart to just two points in the final quarter.
“Second half I thought we got a little laid back and we had to kind of ramp ourselves up again,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “But what we showed was really impressive today.”
A comfortable victory was not perfect, though. Virginia netted just 27.8 percent of its three-point attempts, a figure that would be concerning against a stronger opponent. Graduate guard Jillian Brown was rather quiet in 12 minutes of playing time, contributing two rebounds while scoring zero points and coughing up a pair of turnovers. However, Wednesday evening was largely a promising performance all around.
The Cavaliers now have a break for exams, and will not play their next game until a home match with Winthrop Dec. 20. After that game, Virginia’s remaining 17 contests are all against ACC teams. The Cavaliers have already played one conference game — an 81-55 road win at Boston College — which situates Virginia at fourth in the ACC standings heading into the heart of conference play.
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