DAVIDSON, N.C. — Fueled by a 15-point run to open the second half, Virginia (2-0) downed Davidson (0-2) in a dominant 72-57 win on Thursday night (Nov. 5) at John M. Belk Arena.
In her 100th game as a Virginia player, Kymora Johnson led all scorers with 25 points on the night while dishing out five assists and collecting four rebounds. For the second consecutive game, Johnson moved up the UVA all-time scoring list passing Tora Suber for 7th all-time with 1,771 career points.
Mary-Anna Asare (20 pts, 8-10 FG, 5 reb) delivered her first 20-point performance as a Cavalier while Breona Hurd (13 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast) and Caterina Piatti (12 pts, 4 reb) rounded out four Cavaliers who scored in double figures.
How It Happened
Neither team could create separation in an opening quarter that ended with the score knotted at 14-14. The Cavaliers went 6-for-16 in the first while holding Davidson to just 3-for-11 from the field. However, the Wildcats converted on seven of their eight attempts from the free-throw line while the Cavaliers did not make a trip to the stripe.
Led by 13 second-quarter points from Mary-Anna Asare, the Cavaliers built as much as an eight-point lead [33-25] before taking a 37-33 lead into halftime. Asare went 5-for-6 in the second quarter while drilling a pair of from beyond the arc. She and Johnson led all players at the break with 13 points apiece.
Virginia scored the first 15 points of the second half to build its largest lead of the game [52-33] with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter. The Cavalier scoring run featured four points apiece from Johnson, Hurd and Caterina Piatti. UVA outscored Davidson 22-11 in the quarter and took a 59-44 lead into the fourth. Both teams scored 13 points in the final quarter as Virginia put the finishing touches on its second win of the season.
From Head Coach Aaron Roussell:
“Really like the toughness that we showed today. This is a really tough environment. It's a tough team to play against. You know, if you offered me, you know, 19-point lead at the end, whatever we won by 15 against a team like this in this environment, you have to take it. So, I think the win was huge, but I think what it did is it built some character, and I think showed some toughness.”
With the Win:
- Virginia improves to 2-1 in the all-time series with Davidson
- Head Coach Aaron Roussell improves to 8-2 against the Wildcats for his career
- UVA improves to 2-0 under head coach Aaron Roussell
Game Notes
- Kymora Johnson played her 100th career game, all of which for the Cavaliers
- With 25 points on the night Johnson passed Tora Suber for seventh all-time at UVA with 1,771 career points
- Double-figure scorers: Johnson (25), Asare (20), Hurd (13), Piatti (12)
- Johnson, Asare, Hurd and Piatti combined for 70 of UVA’s 72 points
- Breona Hurd led all players with eight rebounds
- Johnson logged the 38th 20-point game of her career and the second in as many games
- Asare notched the 10th 20-point game of her career
- Johnson notched five assists on the night
- Three Cavaliers recorded multiple steals on the night: Hurd (3), Aukštikalnytė (2) Asare (2)
- Sintija Aukštikalnytė made her first collegiate start
- Eris Lester made her first appearance as a Cavalier
- Virginia outrebounded Davidson 35-33
- UVA shot 59-percent (27-for-55) from the field while holding Davidson to just 33-percent (18-for-54)
- Virginia outscored Davidson 36-24 in the paint
Up Next:
The Cavaliers return home to take on William & Mary on Sunday (Nov. 8) at John Paul Jones Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).