Sa'Myah Smith Shines in 76-50 Win Over Howard

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.  —  Led by an electric start from junior forward Sa’Myah Smith, the Cavalier offense surged in the opening quarter and never looked back on its way to a victory over Howard. Virginia (8-3) cruised to a 76-50 win over the Bison (7-5) on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Smith dazzled in her JPJ debut leading Virginia with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting with seven rebounds on the night. Tabitha Amanze (13 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk), and Adeang Ring (8 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk) rounded out a dominant Virginia front court as the team outscored Howard 54-20 in the paint.

Romi Levy filled up the stat sheet pouring in nine points while dishing out seven assists. She also accounted for six rebounds, a pair of steals and two blocked shots. Kymora Johnson (8 pts, 7 ast, 6 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk) and Paris Clark (9 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl) each make important contributions on both ends as well.

How It Happened
Smith took control of the game from the opening tip scoring the first bucket of the game just three seconds after the jump. She finished the opening quarter with 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting including one three-pointer and a pair of rebounds as the Cavaliers took a 31-13 advantage into the second quarter.

Ring checked in for three minutes and scored six quick points in the second quarter on 3-for-3 shooting to lead Virginia in the period. UVA used a 14-0 scoring run to take a 40-13 lead in the second quarter and led by as many as 29 points in the opening half, but Howard ended the second quarter on an 11-4 run to cut the Cavalier advantage to 22 at the break.

Howard made the first two baskets of the third quarter to cut the Virginia lead to 18, but the Cavalier lead never dipped below that for the remainder of the game. Nine different Cavaliers found the bottom of the net in the second half as the Cavaliers rode out a 26-point victory.

From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
Really proud of our players. I thought that was a great team win. First half, but especially in the first quarter, I thought we were really dominant. I loved how aggressive we were offensively. We were executing even in transition; we were getting whatever we wanted. Second half I thought we got a little laid back and we had to kind of ramp ourselves up again. But what we showed was really impressive today.

With the Win:

• Virginia improves to 4-0 in the all-time series with Howard
• UVA is 35-11 under Amaka Agugua-Hamilton against non-conference opponents
• The Cavaliers improve to 6-1 at John Paul Jones Arena on the season 

Game Notes

• Double figure scorers: Smith (18), Amanze (13)
• The Cavaliers used a 14-0 scoring run to take a 40-13 lead in the second quarter
• Sa’Myah Smith made her first start as a Cavalier
• Smith’s 18 points mark a season high–three points shy of her career high (21, three times)
• Tabitha Amanze scored in double figures for the fifth time this season
• The Cavaliers scored 31 points in the first quarter, marking its third quarter of the season with at least 31 pts (Q1 vs Howard, Q4 vs Nebraska, Q1 vs Longwood)
• Nine different Cavaliers scored in the game
• Virginia outscored Howard 54-20 in the paint
• UVA outrebounded the Bison by a margin of 46-28
• The Cavaliers blocked 10 shots for the third time this season
• Virginia recorded 20+ assists as a team for the second time this season
• Romi Levy recorded seven assists, her second-highest total of the season (10 vs Longwood)
• Kymora Johnson notched seven assists and has registered at least five assists in nine of Virginia’s 11 games
• Gabby White led the team with a career-high three blocks

Up Next:
Virginia will host Winthrop on Saturday (Dec. 20). Tipoff from John Paul Jones Arena is set for 12 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).