Women’s Basketball: Virginia falls 69-57 at No. 20 UCLA

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia women’s basketball team (0-4) suffered a 69-57 loss at No. 20 UCLA (3-0) on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif.

The Cavaliers were down one point with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter, but a flurry of three-pointers from the Bruins early in the fourth quarter helped the home team pull away.

Junior guard Carole Miller led the Cavaliers with 14 points, one of four UVA players in double figures. Junior forward Camryn Taylor scored 12 points. Junior point guard Taylor Valladay and grad student guard Amandine Toi also finished with 10 points apiece. Natalie Chou led the Bruins with 20 points.

Valladay opened the game by scoring off the opening tip four seconds into the contest, but the Bruins answered with eight points in a 1:14 span to take an early 8-2 lead. A three-pointer in the final 18 seconds of the period gave the home team an 18-11 advantage.

Toi scored five points early in the second quarter, including hitting a three-pointer, to swing the momentum in UVA’s direction. A steal by junior forward Camryn Taylor that led to a fastbreak layup from sophomore guard Aaliyah Pitts pulled UVA to within two, 20-18, with 6:50 remaining in the half. A fastbreak layup from Valladay tied the game at 22 with just under five minutes remaining. Valladay gave UVA its first lead, 26-24, with 2:41 left in the quarter as she drove to the basket and converted a layup. Back-to-back three-pointers from the Bruins put UCLA ahead 32-26 in the final minute, but Toi closed out the period with a three pointer to cut the deficit to 32-29 at the break.

The Cavaliers pulled to within a point three times in the third quarter, the last on a corner three from Miller to make it 41-40 with two minutes remaining in the period, but the Bruins scored the final four points of the period to push ahead 45-40. UCLA opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back threes in the first 1:08 to build up a 51-40 advantage. A three pointer from Jaelynn Penn with seven minutes left in the game, the Bruins fourth of the period, made it a 15-point advantage, 59-44. Taylor ended a 10-0 UCLA run with an and-one with 5:15 remaining. A jumper from Miller with 1:11 remaining cut the deficit to 65-55, but the Cavaliers couldn’t sustain a longer rally.