Hot Shooting Propels Virginia Past Wake Forest

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A second-half explosion in which the Cavaliers shot 50-percent from beyond the arc saw Virginia (9-6, 1-2 ACC) cruise to a 69-46 win over Wake Forest (7-6, 0-2 ACC) on Thursday night (Jan. 2) at John Paul Jones Arena.

Kymora Johnson (16 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast) led Virginia on the stat sheet while Breona Hurd (15 pts, 6 reb) and Latasha Lattimore (13 pts, 7 reb) also scored in double figures. Paris Clark (9 pts, 6 reb) and Olivia McGhee (9 pts, 2 ast, 4 stl) each filled up the box score as well.

Virginia was hot from three-point range in the second half drilling eight of its 10 threes in the third and fourth quarters. Six different Cavaliers connected from deep led by Breona Hurd (3-for-4) who recorded a career-high in three pointers.

How It Happened
Following a pair of free throws from Lattimore, McGhee knocked down a three pointer and came up with a steal on the other end to send Virginia off to the races and an early 7-0 lead. Breona Hurd led the way in the first period with five points on 2-for-2 shooting as the Cavaliers took a nine-point lead [18-9] into the second quarter. Virginia cashed in with seven points off six Wake Forest turnovers in the opening frame.

The Demon Deacons cut the lead to just two [20-18] early in the second on the back of a 13-2 run that bridged the opening quarters. Virginia was outscored by a margin of 14-7 in the period and went into the half leading by a pair [25-23]. Latasha Lattimore led the way for Virginia in the first half with seven points and six rebounds.

Virginia exploded from beyond the arc in the third as Edessa Noyan and Paris Clark each knocked down triples to start the second half. Following a media timeout, the Lattimore and Hurd each connected to extend the Virginia lead back to nine points [40-31]. Kymora Johnson would become the fifth Cavalier to net a triple in the third as Virginia extended its lead to 46-35 heading into the fourth. UVA shot 62-percent (5-8) from beyond the arc in the period.

The Cavaliers continued to pour it on in the fourth as Kymora Johnson poured in nine of her 16 points in the frame on 3-for-4 shooting. Virginia would stretch its lead to as many as 23 before the final buzzer sounded on a 69-46 win.

From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton
“It feels good to get a dub on our home court in front of our fans. I thought we grew up and we rebounded. We bounced back from our Notre Dame loss and I thought we played together. Was it a perfect game? No, it’s not going to be, but I think we got better. We have just got to keep taking steps.”

With The Win

• The Cavaliers notch their first ACC victory of the season and improve to 1-2 in conference play
• Virginia improves to 72-11 in the all-time series
• UVA has won each of the last three regular-season meetings with Wake Forest 

Game Notes

• Virginia is 4-0 this season when holding opponents under 50 points
• Double-figure scorers: Johnson (16), Hurd (15), Lattimore (13)
• Paris Clark and Olivia McGhee each tallied nine points
• Virginia recorded 10 three pointers for the third time this season
• The Cavaliers shot 62 percent (5-for-8) from three-point range in the third quarter and 50 percent (8-16) in the second half.
• Six Cavaliers connected from three-point range on the night: McGhee, Clark, Noyan, Johnson, Lattimore, Hurd and Valenti-Paea.
• Five different Cavaliers knocked down three-pointers in the third quarter alone: Clark, Noyan, Johnson, Lattimore and Hurd
• Hurd registered a career-high 3 three-pointers
• Virginia outrebounded Wake Forest by a margin of 41-30
• Johnson and Lattimore each led the team with seven rebounds
• Hurd and Clark each picked up six rebounds while Noyan recorded five

Up Next:
The Cavaliers return to action on Thursday (Jan. 9) when they travel to Clemson. Tipoff at Littlejohn Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).