Virginia Goes Undefeated in Non-Conference Play with Win Against Morgan State

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team (12-0, 1-0 ACC) closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with an 84-28 victory against Morgan State (7-4, 0-0 MEAC) on Sunday (Dec. 18) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.

After holding a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 14-10, the Cavaliers dominated the final 30 minutes of play, outscoring the Bears 70-18 for the remainder of the game.

Mir McLean was one of three Cavaliers to finish the game in double figures with 16 points and nine rebounds. Camryn Taylor scored 15 points with six rebounds and four blocked shots. Sunshine McCrae led Morgan State with 12 points and six rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Morgan State opened the game by making its first shot but missed its next 12 attempts in a seven-minute scoreless span as the Cavaliers built up a 9-2 lead. The Bears hit another quick bucket to narrow the gap to 9-6 before Sam Brunelle sank her second three of the quarter. The Cavaliers went into the second period with a 14-10 edge. The two teams combined for 15 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play.

The Cavaliers opened the second quarter on a 12-0 run, including a three-pointer from Kaydan Lawson that pushed the UVA lead out to double-digits with 7:18 remaining in the period. The Bears broke their 5:36 scoreless spell with a basket with 4:24 left in the half. Virginia scored the final five points of the period to take a 33-14 advantage into the break.

The Cavaliers mounted a 20-2 run in the third quarter to build up a 55-18 advantage with four minutes remaining in the period. The Cavaliers outscored the Bears 30-8 in the frame.

Taylor Valladay opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, the start of an 8-0 run. After a jumper from Ja’Niah Henson, Virginia resumed its run, scoring 10 straight points to make it an 18-2 run to start the period. A layup from London Clarkson with 4:02 remaining pushed the UVA advantage to 50. Back-to-back Cady Pauley layups gave the Cavaliers their biggest lead of the game, 81-24, with just over two minutes left in the game.

CAVALIER NOTES

• This is the third time in program history that the team has gone undefeated in the non-conference portion of the regular-season schedule. Virginia also was undefeated in non-conference play in the 1985-86 season and 1991-92 seasons
• This is the Cavaliers’ first 12-0 start to a season since 1991 and their first 12-game win streak since 1995
• Virginia shot 55.8 percent (29-of-52) overall and went 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) from three-point range
• Morgan State went 11-of-66 (16.7 percent)
• Morgan State went 0-of-19 from three-point range. It was the first time since 2015 that the Cavaliers held an opponent to zero three-point baskets (Jan. 18, 2015 vs. Louisville)
• This was the first time that UVA held an opponent to under 30 points since limiting Norfolk State to 23 on Dec. 28, 2012
• The Cavalier defense limited Morgan State to five made field goals in the first half (5-31, 16.7 percent shooting)
• Virginia held a 51-30 edge in rebounding
• Virginia had 24 assists on 29 baskets
• After committing 15 turnovers in the first half, the Cavaliers only turned the ball over five times in the second half
• This was the first game for the Cavaliers after a 10-day exam break
• This was the Cavaliers’ largest margin of victory of the year (+56) and their second time winning by more than 50 points this season
• Sam Brunelle scored 13 points, going 3-of-5 from three-point range
• Taylor Valladay had six assists, her third time this season with six assists and her fifth time with five or more in a game

FROM HEAD COACH AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON

“I’m just really proud of our players. Coming into this, I knew the first half would be a little bit sloppy. We just came off a 10-day break. I really believe in trying to keep them mentally and physically fresh, so we did sprinkle in off days during that time while working on individual fundamental development and practice. I knew that we would be a little out of rhythm. We did a good job of weathering the storm and then getting into stride in the second half.”

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers return to ACC play next week, traveling to play at Duke on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m.
• Virginia is back home on Thursday, Dec. 29, hosting Georgia Tech at 7 p.m.