Virginia Downs Rider, 78-51

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – All 12 of Virginia’s (7-2) available players scored as the Cavaliers defeated Rider (2-6), 78-51, at John Paul Jones Arena Wednesday night (Dec. 6).

The Hoos dominated the glass, out-rebounding Rider, 60-22, including 31 offensive boards. As a result, Virginia scored 26 second-chance points, while the Broncs scored none.

Camryn Taylor recorded her ninth career double-double and first of the season after finishing with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 13 rebounds. Alexia Smith (11 pts, 5-8 FG) also scored in double figures for the Hoos. Jillian Brown scored eight points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Rider led 15-11 at the end of the first after the Cavaliers connected on just two of their 16 attempts from the field. UVA scored seven points at the free throw line, an effort that was led by Cady Pauley, who was 4-for-4 in the period.

Virginia took the lead for good toward the middle of the second quarter by way of a 6-0 scoring run, which was highlighted by a pair of transition layups from Brown. Taylor had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds at the break. The Cavaliers’ shooting improved in the second quarter as UVA shot 47 percent from the floor.

With the help of a 15-2 run, the Hoos broke the game open in the third. Virginia led 57-40 at the end of the period after seven Cavaliers scored in the period, including Smith and Edessa Noyan (8 pts, 6 reb), who tallied seven and five points, respectively. Noyan drilled her second 3-pointer of the season on just her second attempt.

UVA held the Broncs to just 11 points in the fourth and grasped its largest lead of the contest with 45 seconds remaining after the Cavaliers manufactured a 17-2 run. Olivia McGhee scored the last five points for the Hoos, including one 3-pointer.

FROM HEAD COACH AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON
“I’m really happy to see that we rallied, especially in the second half – and really in the second quarter. We beat them 21 to 12 [in the second]. It was really that first quarter that kind of had us rattled. I thought we were a little stagnant against the zone, but once we got going we saw some good things.”

WITH THE WIN…

• The Cavaliers improved to 6-0 in the all-time series, including 4-0 in Charlottesville.
• Virginia improved to 18-2 against non-conference opponents under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Camryn Taylor recorded her ninth career double-double and first of the season after finishing with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 13 rebounds.
• Virginia out-rebounded the Broncs, 60-22, which marked the second time of the season UVA tallied 60 rebounds in a single game.
• The Hoos had 31 offensive rebounds, nine more than Rider’s total for the contest.
• Edessa Noyan set a career high of eight points on 3-of-7 shooting, including one made 3-pointer and a free throw.
• With 11 points, Alexia Smith notched her 11^th career game with 10 or more points, also her fourth of the season.
• All 12 of UVA’s available players scored in the win.
• Wednesday’s result marked the Cavaliers’ sixth 20-point win of the season.

UP NEXT
With the upcoming exam period, the Cavaliers will enjoy a nine-day hiatus from competition. Virginia’s next game is against Wofford (6-4) on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m., at John Paul Jones Arena.