Cavaliers Breeze Past American in Season Opener

CHALOTTESVILLE, Va. — With the help of a strong performance in the first half, Virginia (1-0) cruised to a 104-68 victory over American (0-1) in its season opener at John Paul Jones Arena Monday night (Nov. 4). 

The Cavaliers were led by sophomore guard Kymora Johnson (21 pts, 6-9 FG, 9 ast) and true freshman Breona Hurd (18 pts, 8-15, 6 reb), who shined in her collegiate debut. Additionally, senior transfer Latasaha Lattimore (21 pts, 7-12 FG, 8 reb, 5 blk) came off the bench to give the Hoos a nice lift, particularly in the second half. 

With the win, UVA claimed its third consecutive victory to open the season under Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who is in her third season as UVA head coach. The Cavaliers also reached the 100-point milestone for the first time since scoring 101 points against UMBC on Nov. 10, 2022, Agugua-Hamilton’s second game at UVA. The Hoos’ 104 points scored are the program’s most in a single game since the 2009-10 season. 

How It Happened
Virginia forced six American turnovers in the first quarter which helped UVA lead by as many as 16 points. The Hoos led 26-10 at the end of the first and had 18 points in the paint and 11 in transition. Hurd and Johnson scored seven points each in quarter No. 1. 

The Cavaliers extended their lead in second quarter and ultimately grasped a 51-25 lead at the half. UVA drilled four 3-pointers, which matched that of the Eagles’ total field goals made in the second quarter. Hurd added nine points in the second on 4-of-7 shooting. Center Taylor Lauterbach led all players at the break with nine rebounds, as did Johnson’s six assists. 

Virginia’s bench came alive in the third, pouring in 16 of its 27 points in the quarter. Latasha Lattimore scored nine of her 15 total points in the third on 4-of-6 shooting. Lattimore made four layups in the third despite being fouled in the act of shooting on two of them. She also added three rebounds and one block. Johnson also contributed nine points in quarter No. 3 after knocking down a pair of field goals and all four free throw attempts. The Cavaliers committed 10 fouls in the period, which contributed to the Eagles sinking 9 of their 13 attempts at the charity stripe. 

UVA closed out the game by connecting on its final eight attempts from the floor and shot 55 percent overall in the fourth. Seven of the Cavaliers’ last eight shots were from layups, many of which came in transition. Center Taylor Lauterbach (8 pts, 13 reb) finished one basket shy of a double-double and logged career highs in both scoring and rebounding.  

From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton
“Obviously 104 is a lot of points. I’m really proud of our offensive execution today. I thought we played with pace the way we wanted to. We had some lapses on defense that we can work on before our next game, but I thought for the most part, we were locked in. It was a great team effort.” 

 Game Notes 

• Virginia improved to 3-0 in season openers under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. 
• Under Agugua-Hamilton, Virginia is now 21-4 against non-conference opponents. 
• Virginia scored 100 points for the first time since a 101-46 victory over UMBC in Agugua-Hamilton’s second game at UVA 
• Virginia scored 104 points for the first time since scoring 110 vs. USC Upstate in 2009-10. 
• The Cavaliers improve to 38-0 when scoring 100 points or more 
• Four Cavaliers scored in double-figures including: Johnson (21), Hurd (18), McGhee (12) and Lattimore (15) 
• Johnson was just one assist shy of a double-double with 21 points and nine assists 
• Taylor Lauterbach logged a career-high eight points  
• The Cavaliers out-rebounded the Eagles by a margin of 53-36 
• Virginia shot 52.5 percent from the field and held their opponents to a percentage of just 34.8.  
• UVA improves to 6-2 all-time against American 
• The Cavaliers scored 35 points in transition compared to American’s six

Up Next:
Virginia returns to action Friday (Nov. 8), when it travels to No. 10 Oklahoma (1-0). Tipoff from Lloyd Noble Center is set for 9 p.m. ET on SEC Network.