Cavaliers Cruise Past Morgan State in Season Opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Spurred on by strong first half and 24 points from Kymora Johnson, the Virginia women’s basketball team (1-0) cruised to an 86-36 victory over Morgan State (0-1) in its season opener at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavalier offense was led by junior guard Johnson (24 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast) and senior guard Paris Clark (18 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast). Romi Levy put on a strong Cavalier debut filling up the stat sheet with a team-leading 11 rebounds as well as eight points, four assists and two steals. Levy’s eight points were exactly enough to reach 1,000 for her career.

With the win, Virginia claimed its fourth consecutive victory to open the season under Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who is in her fourth season as UVA head coach.

How It Happened
The Cavaliers opened the game on a 13-3 run as Johnson powered the offense in the opening frame scoring 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Levy led the Cavaliers with four rebounds and a pair of steals as UVA entered the second quarter leading 27-8.

Virginia opened the second quarter on a 10-1 run as Johnson poured in another eight points in the period to finish with 19 first-half points. Clark pitched in eight points of her own in the frame on a perfect 2-for-2 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the stripe. Levy secured five more rebounds to end the half with nine boards as Virginia took a 53-17 lead into the break.

Levy hit 1,000 career points in the fourth quarter with her fourth basket of the game. The Cavalier bench scored 16 of Virginia’s 33 points in the second half of the game to coast to an 86-36 victory.

From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton
“Well, it’s great to be back. I’m really proud of our group. These games are difficult to get in the flow when people are switching up defenses. They played man, two-three zone. They played a little bit of a two-three matchup. There was a lot going on, so I was just happy that we weathered the storm. Yeah, got a little bit ugly when we got a little bit lax in the second half, but we did a good job of sticking to the game plan.”

Game Notes

• Virginia improved to 4-0 in season openers under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.
• Under Agugua-Hamilton, Virginia is now 29-8 against non-conference opponents.
• Two Cavaliers scored in double-figures including: Johnson (24), Clark (18)
• Levy was two points shy of a double-double (8 pts, 11 reb)
• Tabitha Amanze recorded a career-high five blocks
• Cavaliers won by 50+ points for the first time since 2022 – also against Morgan State (12/18/22)
• Virginia recorded 58 rebounds – its highest total since recording 58 against Bethune-Cookman (11/24/24)
• UVA grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, its highest total since recording 31 against Rider (12/6/23)
• Virginia’s 12 blocks mark its highest total since recording 13 against Florida State (1/19/23)
• The Cavaliers outrebounded Morgan State 58-27
• Virginia recorded 46 points the paint
• UVA improves to 6-0 all-time against Morgan State

Up Next:
Virginia returns to action Sunday (Nov. 9), when it hosts Bucknell at John Paul Jones Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).