Balanced Effort Lifts Cavaliers over Bethune-Cookman, 82-48

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia (5-1) won the opening jump ball, made two quick passes and scored five seconds in, a sequence that encapsulated the Hoos’ fourth consecutive win at John Paul Jones Arena Saturday afternoon (Nov. 24), an 82-48 decision over Bethune-Cookman (2-4). 

The win also marked UVA’s fourth in which it held its opponent to 50 points or less. In turn, the Cavaliers dominated the glass, 58-37. Latasha Lattimore (13), Breona Hurd (12) and Taylor Lauterbach (10) all grabbed double-digit rebounds. Hurd and Lauterbach also recorded double-doubles with 15 and 10 points respectively. The double-double is the first of Lauterbach’s career and her 10 points are a career best. 

The Hoos also received a nice lift from Olivia McGhee, who led the way on offense with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, which marked her second career 20-point performance. Lattimore finished with eight points, only two shy of what would have been her third consecutive double-double. Additionally, all Cavaliers who checked into Sunday’s game found the bottom of the net. 

How It Happened
The Cavaliers claimed an 8-2 advantage at the first media timeout after Bethune-Cookman missed 10 of their first 11 shots in the opening six minutes of play. The Hoos grew their lead to 15-5 at the end of the first with Hurd’s four points on 2-for-3 shooting leading the way.

Virginia’s momentum continued into the second quarter as a McGhee jumper followed by a pair of makes from the line grew the advantage to 15 points before mounting an 11-0 scoring run. The Cavaliers would go on to outscore the Wildcats 24-9 in the second, with six of B-CU’s nine points coming from beyond the arc. McGhee led all scorers in the first half with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting as UVA went into the break up 39-14.

Following a back-and-forth sequence to kick off the third, eight unanswered Virginia points, punctuated by back-to-back 3-pointers by McGhee and Casey Valenti-Paea, gave the Cavaliers a 35-point lead and forced a B-CU timeout with just under two minutes remaining. After the Wildcats hit a triple of their own, McGhee promptly responded with her fourth three of the contest at the 59-second mark. A last-second B-CU layup concluded the third quarter with Virginia leading 59-26.

Despite a game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, Bethune-Cookman was ultimately unable to shrink its deficit to less than 29 as the Cavaliers sealed the victory.

From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
“I think it was a great team win. Everybody contributed. We had some breakout performances: two double doubles. It felt really good, you know, I felt like everybody was contributing. Everybody was engaged, and we dominated the game the way we wanted to.” 

With the Win:  

• The Hoos picked up their 25th non-conference win under Amaka Agugua-Hamilton as UVA head coach. 

• UVA earned the first win in the inaugural matchup of the series with Bethune-Cookman. 

• The Hoos tallied their fourth straight win at home this season. 

Game Notes 

• Virginia scored just five seconds into the contest and never trailed the rest of the way.  

• Cavaliers have held their opponents to 50 points or less in last four games. 

• Four Cavaliers scored in double digits including Olivia McGhee (20), Breona Hurd (15), Kymora Johnson (14) and Taylor Lauterbach (10). 

• Taylor Lauterbach matched a career high in points (10) and recorded her first career double-double (10 rebounds). 

• Breona Hurd (15 points, 12 rebounds) earned her first career double-double. 

• Olivia McGhee notched her second career 20-point game and hit a career-high three 3-pointers. 

• Two players reached a career high in rebounds, Yonta Vaughn (9) and Breona Hurd (12), while Latasha Lattimore matched her career high (13). 

• UVA recorded its largest rebounding margin of the season (+21) and had three double-digit rebounders.
• Two Cavaliers recorded double-doubles in the same game for the first time since the 2019-20 season (Willoughby 13 pts, Jablonowski 12 pts, 10 reb)

Up Next: 

The Cavaliers return to action on Thursday (Nov. 28) when they take on Green Bay at the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout in San Juan. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. ET on FloHoops.