Cavaliers Cruise Past La Salle, 94-73

PHILADELPHIA – In its first true road contest of the season, Virginia (6-2) outscored La Salle (3-4) in all four quarters on the way to its 94-73 victory Sunday afternoon (Dec. 3) at Tom Gola Arena. The Cavaliers had six players score in double figures and shot a season-high 48 percent. UVA’s 94 points scored are also a season best.

Among UVA’s double digit scorers, Kymora Johnson led all players with 17 points – her season high – after sinking all six of her field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer, and finished 4-for-5 at the charity stripe. Johnson also dished out three assists and had three steals.

Jillian Brown (12 pts, 8 reb), Paris Clark (12 pts, 6 reb), London Clarkson (11 pts, 7 reb), Camryn Taylor (10 pts, 10-10 FT) and Sam Brunelle (10 pts) rounded out the list of double digit scorers for the Hoos. The last time UVA had at least six double figure scorers was against on Nov. 16, 2015 against Norfolk State. Yonta Vaughn finished with four points, five rebounds and a game-high six assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia led 17-8 at the end of the first quarter. Clark recorded all eight of her points in the opening period by the media timeout on 4-of-4 shooting. UVA shot 60 percent in the opening period, while the Explorers shot a clip of 38 percent. La Salle made the first basket of the game, but that was the last lead the Explorers would have for the rest of the game.

An 8-0 run by the Cavaliers delivered their largest lead of the game, 35-22, midway through the second. UVA went into the locker room up 45-33 at the half. Johnson led all scorers at the break with 14 points after shooting 4-for-4 from the field and sunk three of her four attempts at the charity stripe.

The Cavaliers extended their lead to as many as 20 points [68-48] – UVA’s largest of the contest – midway through the third with the help of an 11-0 run. Virginia sustained its 20-point advantage heading into the fourth, when it led 73-53. Brown and Taylor had six points each, while Brown came up with three of her four steals in the period.

La Salle trimmed the UVA lead to 13 points [79-66] after the Explorers scored 10 unanswered points. The Cavaliers immediately responded with a 13-0 run of their own to halt any chance of a La Salle comeback. UVA’s run was highlighted by a pair of made 3s from Brunelle and Cady Pauley, who scored five points in the fourth. The Cavalier defense held La Salle to just 25 percent shooting in the final stanza.

FROM HEAD COACH AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON
“I thought we started well. That was definitely something that we were trying to get better at. We just haven’t been starting well pretty much the whole season. So, I liked the way we started. Then we got a little bit uninterested and once we got a lead, we were a little lackadaisical, so we started pressing just to get our energy back. And I love what our guards did in the press. We turned them over. We were able to get some offense from our defense. So that was good, but to have six people in double figures, that’s huge for us. [Kymora Johnson] was phenomenal. She didn’t even miss a shot. She was 6 for 6 and 1 for 1. [Jillian Brown] sparked us in the second half and [Paris Clark] really helped to start really good. So, the scoring was balanced and to put up 94 points on the road is a lot.”

WITH THE WIN…

• The Cavaliers won the first-ever matchup of the series against La Salle.
• Virginia improved to 17-2 against non-conference foes under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.
• The Hoos won their first true road contest of the season.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia’s 94 points scored are a season high.
• UVA shot a season-high 48 percent from the field.
• Twelve of Virginia’s 13 available players scored in the win.
• Virginia had six double-digit scorers, a first since defeating Norfolk State on Nov. 16, 2015.
• Kymora Johnson finished with a season-high 17 points after knocking down all six of her field goal tries and finished 4-for-5 at the line.
• The last time a player shot 100 percent from the field (min. 5 attempts) was Khyasia Caldwell (5-5 FG) against Coppin State on Dec. 2, 2018.
• Camryn Taylor finished 10-for-10 at the free throw line … The last UVA player to go at last 10-for-10 at the line was London Clarkson, who finished 14-for-14 against Boston College on Jan. 15, 2023.

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers return to John Paul Jones Arena to host Rider (2-5) on Wednesday (Dec. 6). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ACCNX.