Valladay Setting Pace for Cavaliers

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Not until she saw the box score did Tina Thompson realize just how prolific Taylor Valladay had been Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena. Asked for her thoughts on Valladay’s performance in Virginia’s win over ACC foe Pittsburgh, Thompson smiled.

“My thoughts have changed, now that I know that she had 30 points,” Thompson said during her postgame press conference.

Valladay, a 5-foot-7 junior who leads the Cavaliers in assists and steals, came into the Pitt game averaging a modest 8.7 points. Never in AAU ball or high school hoops had she hit the 30-point mark, Valladay said Tuesday.

“It was just a thing where I was just in my groove, especially with the way [the Panthers] were playing me,” she said. “It was a good night for me. I was just taking what the defense was giving me. I was just going with the flow, and it just so happened that I came up with 30 points.”

Valladay’s ability to consistently break down defenders and finish at the basket “impacted our team in a big way,” Thompson said, “and allowed us to score points in some moments where we needed a basket.

A transfer from Marquette, Valladay in her first year at UVA. Her previous high was 18 points, against North Carolina on Jan. 20.

The Wahoos lost that game, 61-52 in Chapel Hill, N.C., in part because they scored only four points in the third quarter. They get another shot at the Tar Heels on Thursday night at JPJ.

At 7 o’clock, Virginia (5-20 overall, 2-15 ACC) closes the regular season against No. 18 UNC (21-5, 11-5).

“We are definitely looking forward to it,” Valladay said.

In a Senior Night ceremony that will begin around 6:40 p.m., players Eleah Parker, Tihana Stojsavljevic and Amandine Toi, all graduate students, will be recognized, along with student-managers Emma Prillaman, Yaa Awusi-Sarkodie, Justin Hunt and Vinny Thota.

This has been a trying season for the Hoos, who dropped their first 15 conference games. They finally broke through last Thursday night, when they upset Duke 67-54 at JPJ, and they followed that with a 74-65 win over Pitt.

“We knew that it would come eventually,” Thompson said, “so once it did happen, there was extreme joy, and we used that energy to kind of carry over into practice, into shootaround and also in the game [against Pitt]. It’s just a different feeling when all your hard work leads to wins.”

Coming into the Pitt game, Valladay said, “I kept reiterating to my teammates, ‘Let’s just build off of the win that we just had.’ ”

Now that the Hoos have done so, they’re hungry for more success.

“I think now we’ve got an idea and we kind of see what winning looks like,” Valladay said. “We also see what team wins look like, and I think that’s something we’re holding onto as a team. I constantly reiterate to my teammates, ‘It’s not about you, it’s about we.’ I think now that we kind of see that, every game we go into moving forward, it’s like, ‘We can do this.’ I think our mindset has changed as well, even with coming to practice, day-to-day practices, lifts, film sessions. We’re more receptive to information. It’s just a whole different attitude and atmosphere.”

Valladay was born and raised in Chicago, where she attended Rich South High School. She was a state champion sprinter in track & field and could have pursued that sport in college, “but I decided to go for basketball,” Valladay said. “I don’t regret it, but I always think about how I’d be if I ran track.”

A torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee marred her high school career––Valladay wasn’t able to compete in sports as a senior––but she committed to Marquette in July 2018 and enrolled there the next summer.

Valladay appeared in 20 games as a Marquette freshman and averaging 5.2 points, 1.8 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore, after which she decided she wanted a change.

“I just needed a different environment,” Valladay said.

Once she put her name in the transfer portal, Valladay said, she quickly heard from Thompson, and they forged a strong bond.

“She wanted me to be a part of her team,” Valladay said, “and wanted me to come in and be the best version of myself. I think that was one of the things that stood out, that she was here for me way beyond basketball. In my recruiting process, I made that very clear to coaches, that if I can’t have a relationship with you outside basketball, then me coming to your program wouldn’t be best.

“That’s one of the things Coach Tina Thompson has emphasized, that she’s here for me off the court, and it’s been nothing but good things since I’ve been here.”

Valladay, a sociology major, was one of five transfers to join the Cavaliers’ program after the 2020-21 school year, and the adjustment process hasn’t always been smooth for her and her teammates.

“It was very different and it was challenging,” Valladay said, “specifically for me as one of the leaders on the team, because you’ve kind of got to learn everybody’s game. Especially when you’re on the court, you’ve got to know who to put in different positions and different situations to be effective.

“As far as creating relationships with different girls on the team, it wasn’t hard, but as far as on-the-court things, it was kind of different, because you’ve got to take a step back and get to know everybody’s game, especially with being an extension of the coach on the floor. With the job I have, it was difficult, because I wasn’t used to some of the ways the girls played. But now it’s like everything is coming together.”

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