An early fourth quarter push from the visiting Hawks cut the lead to 10 points, but the game was never really in doubt. Behind several individual standout performances, including three newcomers to this year's roster scoring in double figures, the Virginia women's basketball team opened the 2023-2024 season with a 76-52 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.
This offseason saw Coach Mox bolster her roster with six newcomers, including three transfers and three freshmen. On opening night, however, that depth was already hampered by a variety of injuries. Three starters from last season - Mir McLean, Sam Brunelle, and Kaydan Lawson - missed the opener, as did Arizona transfer guard Paris Clark and graduate forward London Clarkson, who was a late scratch after "tweaking something" in pregame warmups.
Those injuries resulted in Coach Mox rolling out a starting lineup that featured two freshmen in Edessa Noyan and Kymora Johnson and transfer guard Jillian Brown. In total, five different players made their Cavalier debuts on Wednesday night and they delivered. Charlottesville native and five-star point guard Kymora Johnson was the team's second-leading scorer with 15 points and also tallied seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Fellow Virginia native Olivia McGhee, who grew up in nearby Louisa County, joined Johnson in double figures with 12 points and also contributed seven rebounds and two blocks. Jillian Brown had perhaps the most impressive showing out of the newcomers, as the Northwestern transfer filled the box score in her UVA debut with 14 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, one assist, and one steal.
"I'm really proud of JJ [Jillian Brown]. She's a hard worker, you know, she lives in the gym. She's a two-way player, she can play on both sides of the ball," Coach Mox said of Brown after the game. "For her to have that success in her first game in a Virginia jersey, I'm just so proud of her."
Even with all the contributions from newcomers, it was the ultra-reliable Camryn Taylor who led the way for the Cavaliers with 22 points and nine rebounds. 13 of those 22 points came in the fourth quarter, as Taylor put the team on her back after Maryland Eastern Shore went on a run to make it a 10-point game early in the final period.
"Cam was a beast inside and she really put her team on her back," Coach Mox said. "Just demanded the ball, got some and ones and that's the Cam we know."
By the end of the night, Virginia had cruised to a comfortable 24-point win, but early on, some rustiness and sloppy play plagued the Cavaliers, who missed 10 of their first 11 shots and saw Maryland Eastern Shore jump out to a 6-0 lead. UVA's defense held the Hawks scoreless for the next four minutes and the Hoos worked back into the game behind hard work in the paint and free throws. Despite making just four shots in the first quarter, Virginia still led 14-10 after the first period.
Kymora Johnson got the Cavaliers out of their shooting slump by making three three-pointers in rapid succession, the last of which was a heat check from well beyond the arc at the top of the key. Virginia made five threes in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 35-22 at halftime.
Even with that shooting spree in the second period, Virginia's three-point shooting left a lot to be desired in this game, as UVA went 8/31 (25.8%) from beyond the arc. With Maryland Eastern Shore sitting back in a zone defense, the Cavaliers were encouraged to take those threes, but Coach Mox was not happy to see that her team had attempted 20 three-pointers in the first half, making only six of them. In the second half, Virginia put a bigger emphasis on working the ball inside. Ultimately, the Cavaliers outscored the Hawks 30-10 in the paint.
Taking a 50-36 lead into the fourth quarter, some questionable officiating allowed Maryland Eastern Shore to eat into that Virginia lead, cutting the deficit to 52-42 and prompting a timeout from Coach Mox. It was after that timeout that Camryn Taylor asserted herself and proceeded to score the next nine points for Virginia to put the game away.
"I was demanding the ball, making sure that was my presence was known and a lot of things were open," Taylor said of her play in the fourth quarter. "My teammates got me in good position."
Even with all the injuries, Virginia ran a nine-player rotation that kept the Cavaliers fresh and able to execute Coach Mox's fast-pace style of basketball. UVA tallied 24 fastbreak points in the game as compared to just six for Maryland Eastern Shore. Virginia left some transition points on the table with 19 turnovers, but Coach Mox sees a lot of potential with her team's transition game.
"Overall, we sustained the pace, which was great, for 40 minutes and I think we showed a lot of growth there and depth helps that too," Coach Mox said. "I think you're gonna see us play faster and you're gonna see us kind of get to our transition options more as we play."
Virginia will look to continue to develop in game 2 on Sunday at 2pm when the Cavaliers welcome Campbell to John Paul Jones Arena.
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