McGhee Starting to Hit Her Stride

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — With 5:25 left in the fourth quarter, Olivia McGhee headed to Virginia’s bench after picking up her fifth personal foul. Her day was done, but the Cavaliers were comfortably ahead, and the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena showed its appreciation for McGhee’s contributions by showering her with applause.

A 6-foot-2 sophomore from Louisa County, McGhee totaled 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes off the bench Sunday afternoon. Only her classmate Kymora Johnson (20 points) scored more for the Wahoos in their 76-47 win over La Salle at JPJ.

McGhee arrived at UVA in June 2023 as a heralded recruit, and she flashed her talent as a freshman, when she started eight games. But inconsistency marked her first college season. She put up 12 points in her college debut and later scored a season-high 22 in a win over Wake Forest, but she went scoreless in eight of Virginia’s final 13 games in 2023-24.

The Hoos are 3-1 after routing the Explorers (1-3). McGhee, who wears jersey No. 0, has yet start a game this season, but she’s scored in double figures three times.

“I feel like this year I’ve just been more comfortable overall, especially in practice,” McGhee said. “I’ve learned the system, I know what’s supposed to happen when it’s supposed to happen, so that kind of gives me the ability to play more freely. I was in a bit of a shooting slump, but I’ve been working hard at practices, and my teammates and my coaches instill confidence in me. I knew it was going to click at some point, it was just a matter of time.”

In 2023-24, McGhee was one of three players on the UVA roster with ties to the Charlottesville area, along with Johnson and forward Sam Brunelle, graduates of St. Anne’s-Belfield and William Monroe High School, respectively.

Brunelle, who had large, loud cheering sections at JPJ, is now playing professionally, but McGhee and Johnson continue to draw support from area residents who’ve been watching them for years.

“It’s been great,” said McGhee, who starred at Louisa County High before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida. “I always catch myself looking in the stands and see a bunch of people I know from my hometown, my mom, dad, family members, all of that. So I know the support is real and if I ever needed motivation, I just look up in the stands and know I have people here supporting me all the time.”

UVA primarily uses McGhee at the 3—small forward—but she’s versatile enough to play the 2 (shooting guard) or the 4 (power forward) as well. The same is true for 6-foot-2 freshman Breona Hurd, who made her fourth start at the 3 on Sunday.

Hurd, who’s from Waynesville, Mo., totaled 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal against La Salle. For the season, she’s averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Hurd is far from a finished product, “but I think she’s been playing hard, playing with a motor,” Virginia head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “She tries to fill the stat sheet. She’ll rebound, she’ll bring it in transition. She’s still working on getting consistent with her 3-point shot, but she gets to the rim. So I think she really has a high ceiling, and she’s a big guard doing it. We kind of recruited her as a 4, but she just has the skill set of a guard, so she can play both and I think she’s doing a good job at it.”

Also scoring in double figures for UVA on Sunday were senior forward Latasha Lattimore (12 points) and junior guard Yonta Vaughn (10). Vaughn started in place of junior Paris Clark, who missed the game with an injury.

Lattimore, who stands 6-foot-4, also pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked three shots, both game highs. A transfer from another ACC school, Miami, where injuries hindered her, Lattimore is in her first season at Virginia.

“I would say my transition has been pretty smooth,” she said. “I am finding things that I struggled with before in previous years that I’m now doing a lot better: for example, rebounding.”

Lattimore smiled. “Coach Mox gets on me [about] rebounding every single day in practice. So, it’s just a confidence type of thing, just coming off of my injury.”

The Cavaliers led by only five points at halftime but pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Explorers 26-13. Virginia’s full-court pressure rattled La Salle, which finished with 20 turnovers.

“I think every game that we’ve pressed, we’ve had great results from it,” Agugua Hamilton said. “Sometimes we’ve got to get a little adjusted to [opponents’ press-break strategy] or they switch something up, but I like it. I think we’re very versatile. We’re long, athletic, and I think we can just speed up the game that way.”

La Salle extended its second possession by grabbing three offensive rebounds. As the game went on, though, the Hoos tightened up on defense, and they finished with 46 boards, to 45 for the Explorers.

“We addressed it,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I think the players addressed it. Everybody was aware. We just had to be a little bit more intentional with rebounding. The thing was, [the Explorers are] a little bit not traditional in the fact that they send all five to the offensive boards. So we had to make sure we boxed out our man before trying to pursue, and once we did that I think we got a hold of it.”

Johnson, a second-team All-ACC selection in 2023-24, received a warm ovation from the crowd when she checked out for the final time Sunday. UVA led 70-47 with 2:31 to play, and No. 21 had turned in another sterling performance, hitting 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range and 7 of 15 overall.

For the season, Johnson leads Virginia in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (5.5 per game) and she’s second in steals per game (1.8). She’s shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 52.2 percent from 3-point range, both team highs, too. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is 2-to-1.

Johnson’s shot selection has improved, and so has her decision-making, Agugua-Hamilton said. “That was one thing that she wanted to do: cut down on some unforced turnovers and just kind of read when she needs to make the extra pass, when she needs to shoot the ball. I think she’s just getting a little bit more comfortable in the system … I think really all the returners feel like that, and then the newcomers have just merged in seamlessly.”

UVA, which is halfway through a four-game homestand, hosts Alabama State (2-1) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Lady Hornets are coming off an 83-29 loss to Mississippi State.

The Hoos will play six more non-conference games before taking on Boston College in their ACC opener Dec. 8 at JPJ. Then will come non-conference dates with UMES and Coppin State, after which will Virginia will resume ACC play.

Agugua-Hamilton, who’s in her third season at UVA, said consistency “is the biggest thing right now. We’re just trying to be consistent and play together, learn each other a little bit more, and just make sure we’re clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. Each game, I think we’re growing in that area, and we’ve just got to continue to get better, and I think these games will prepare us for conference play.”

To receive Jeff White’s articles by email, click the appropriate box in this link to subscribe.