Virginia Drops Home Contest Against UCF

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (0-3) suffered a 59-38 loss against UCF (2-1) on Wednesday (Nov. 17) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville.

Junior forward Camryn Taylor led the Cavaliers with 10 points. She also had four rebounds and two steals. Tay Sanders led the Knights with 15 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Grad student guard Amandine Toi drained a three-pointer in the opening minute, but UCF scored a quick six points in a 31-second span to take an 8-5 lead with 6:46 remaining in the first. Both teams suffered three-minute-plus scoring droughts in the opening period, but the Knights got out of theirs by going on a 6-0 run. A banked-in three-pointer from sophomore guard Kaydan Lawson ended the Cavaliers slide and pulled the team to within three, 14-11, but the Knights ended the quarter with a 17-11 advantage. UCF pulled away late in the second quarter, going on a 16-3 run, including scoring 11 straight points, to go up 34-18. A steal and a fast-break layup from junior forward Meg Jefferson closed out the half with a 34-20 score.

UCF scored on its first possession of the third quarter, making a layup 11 seconds into the period. It was the only field goal made by either team until a jumper from Camryn Taylor with 3:36 left in the quarter. UCF still managed to build on its lead during the field goal drought, making six free throws. The Knights led 47-25 heading into the fourth. Junior guard Carole Miller started the final frame by hitting a three-pointer, UVA’s fourth of the game, launching an 8-0 run. The scoring spree was capped by a four-point play from junior forward London Clarkson. Clarkson was fouled while making a driving layup. She missed her free throw but got her own rebound for a quick put-back to make it 47-33. UCF built its lead back up to 18 on a three-pointer with three minutes left in the game. The Knights hit a three-pointer in the final four seconds of the game to bump their advantage to 21.

FROM HEAD COACH TINA THOMPSON

“Definitely not the outcome that we wanted. We went into this game knowing exactly what kind of game it was going to be like. I felt we fell a little bit to the pressures of the game and not executing, not defending in the way that we needed to be in this game and be competitive. We had flashes when we kind of stuck to our scheme and we executed and we were able to give ourselves a chance to get back in it. But I will say not just this game, but in our first three games, it’s the inconsistencies that have been a problem for us and we have to find a way to be a lot more consistent.”

NOTES

• Virginia shot 31.8 percent (14-of-44). UCF shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47)
• UCF held a 39-23 edge in rebounding
• Each team committed 23 turnovers
• UCF scored 19 fast-break points
• Sophomore forward Deja Bristol made her season debut after missing the first two games coming back from an injury

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia will head to the West Coast, playing at No. 20 UCLA on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. ET. The trip concludes with a game on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at Fullerton at 9 p.m. ET
• The Cavalier Classic tournament returns to John Paul Jones Arena with games on Friday, Nov. 26 and Sunday Nov. 28. UVA will face Rhode Island and Richmond with Long Beach State also taking on those same two opponents