Cavaliers dominate fourth quarter en route to 80-51 win over Tribe

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia made the first basket of the game eight seconds in and led the rest of the way in its 80-51 victory over William & Mary at John Paul Jones Arena Wednesday night. 

For the second consecutive game, five different Cavaliers scored in double figures in Jillian Brown (17), Camryn Taylor (12), Sam Brunelle (12), Kymora Johnson (11) and Olivia McGhee (10). Brown’s 17 points are a season high. Brunelle, who finished 4 of 6 from the floor and added three rebounds in just over 13 minutes of action, made her season debut after being sidelined with an injury earlier this season. 

Virginia outscored the Tribe in all four quarters, including 27-10 in the final stanza. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Both teams struggled to make shots early on, but the Cavaliers (3-0) managed a six-point lead [14-8] by the end of the first quarter. Twelve of UVA’s 14 points in the opening period came in the paint. Both teams combined to shoot 0 for 8 from deep. Brunelle checked into the game midway through the first quarter.  

In the second, Brunelle finished a driving lay-up through contact and completed the and-1 play at the charity stripe to finish the first half with six points on 2-of-3 shooting. The Cavaliers led 34-23 at the break as Brown and Johnson combined for 17 points. UVA continued to dominate the paint – once again scoring a dozen points inside and manufactured 13 fast-break points, while the Tribe had none. 

Brunelle knocked down two triples in the third and Brown added six points as well. The Tribe (0-4) orchestrated a 7-0 run over the span of 3:00 to shrink UVA’s lead to six, but that was as close as William & Mary would get the rest of the way. A layup by Brown followed by Brunelle’s second 3-pointer of the quarter with 21 seconds left gave the Hoos a 53-41 lead entering the fourth. 

Taylor scored the first seven points of the final quarter amid an 11-2 UVA run. McGhee took over down the stretch, scoring 10 of UVA’s final 14 points, which came in consecutive fashion in the waning minutes of Wednesday’s contest.

FROM UVA HEAD COACH AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON 

“I thought that was a good game for us. It was a little bit of a dog fight early. We’re still getting used to the system, we’re still getting used to all these different lineups. People are coming back … Defensively we were really solid the whole game, a couple of breakdowns here and there, but you’re going to have that.  Offensively, we opened it up in the second half. As we get more comfortable in the system, we’re going to shoot the ball better.” 

GAME NOTES 

• With the win, Virginia extended its lead in the series with William & Mary, 13-0, including 9-0 in Charlottesville. 
• The Cavaliers are now 3-0 for the second consecutive year under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. 
• UVA improved to 14-0 against non-conference foes under Agugua-Hamilton. 
• For the second straight game five Cavaliers scored in double figures in Jillian Brown (17), Camryn Taylor (12), Sam Brunelle (12), Kymora Johnson (11) and Olivia McGhee (10). 
• Brunelle (4-6 FG, 13 mins) made her season debut after checking into the game off the bench midway through the first quarter. Brunelle’s last appearance was on Jan. 29, 2022 against Virginia Tech. Brunelle missed the beginning of this year and the last eight games of the 2022-23 season due to injury. 
• Brown’s 17 points are a season high and second most among all UVA players in a single game this season. 
• All 11 available Virginia players played and scored in Wednesday’s game. 
• Virginia’s 29-point victory marked its largest of the season.  
• Wednesday’s final score of 80-51 was same as the Cavaliers’ men’s team the night before in their win over North Carolina A&T at JPJ. 

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers return to John Paul Jones Arena to host No. 25 Oklahoma on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network.