Virginia Improves to 10-0 With 78-36 Win Against UNCW

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (10-0, 1-0 ACC) picked up a 78-36 victory against UNCW (2-5, 0-0 CAA) on Sunday (Dec. 4) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.

Virginia went on a 17-2 run in the first quarter to build up an early lead. The Cavaliers opened the second half on a 14-0 run and built up a 30-point lead in the third quarter and a 40-point advantage in the final four minutes of play. The Cavaliers outscored the Seahawks 40-14 in the second half.

McKenna Dale led the Cavaliers with 22 points. London Clarkson matched her career high with 12 points. UNCW did not have a player finish in double figures.

This is the Cavaliers’ first 10-0 start to a season since 1991 and their first 10-game win streak since 1999-00.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Back-to-back layups from Dale and an and-one from Clarkson fueled a 17-2 run in the opening quarter. Virginia’s defense kept the Seahawks from hitting a field goal in a four-minute span to build up a 17-4 lead and a 19-8 advantage at the end of the opening period.

The Cavaliers scored the first five points of the second quarter, including a three-pointer from Dale, to expand their lead to 24-8. The Seahawks’ offense heated up midway through the period, making four-straight field goals to cut the deficit to 25-20 with 4:39 remaining. A three-pointer from Dale ended the run. An and-one from Cady Pauley followed by another three from Dale capped a 13-2 run that pushed UVA’s lead to 38-22 with 1:02 left in the half.

The Cavaliers opened the second half on a 14-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Sam Brunelle and Dale. A lay-up from Mir McLean with 4:05 remaining pushed the Virginia lead out to 30, 52-22. UVA led 58-29 headed into the fourth.

Clarkson opened the final quarter with an and-one. The Cavaliers scored eight points in a 1:20 span midway through the period, including a three-pointer from Pauley, to build up a 40-point lead, 73-33, with 3:50 remaining. The Cavaliers scored the final five points of the game to finish off the 42-point victory.

CAVALIER NOTES

• Virginia shot 41.3 percent (31-of-75), while UNCW went 16-of-63 (25.4 percent). UNCW was 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) from three-point range
• Virginia held a 50-42 edge in rebounding
• This was the sixth 20-point game in McKenna Dale’s career, but her first as a Cavalier
• Dale was 4-of-9 from three-point range
• London Clarkson went 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line
• Mir McLean and Cady Pauley also finished the game in double figures, each with 11 points. McLean grabbed a game-high nine rebounds
• The 11 points was Pauley’s career high
• With Pauley’s 11-point performance, every member of the team has scored in double figures in at least one game this season
• This was the Cavaliers’ second 40-point win of the season and their third-straight victory by a margin of 20+

FROM HEAD COACH AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON

“The atmosphere here really helps us. It makes it a really fun environment. It’s electric in there when we’re going on our runs and the energy in the building is awesome. That’s exactly what you want. I’m proud of our players. Being 10-0 is definitely a blessing, and we just want to continue to bring joy to the community in everything we do, especially during a dark time. I’m happy that we can put smiles on people’s faces.”

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia plays at William & Mary on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. in UVA’s final game before exam break
• The Cavaliers return to action on Sunday, Dec. 18, hosting Morgan State at 2 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena