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Amaka Agugua-Hamilton gave herself quite the birthday present on Wednesday as she landed her first high school commit as head coach of Virginia women's basketball. Cady Pauley, a star basketball player from Milan High in Northern Missouri, announced her commitment to UVA on Wednesday. 

Pauley had originally been committed to play at Missouri State, but reopened her commitment after Coach Mox left Missouri State to take the job at Virginia. Pauley decided to follow Coach Mox and committed to UVA. 

"...I was looking for a family atmosphere and coaches that believed in me," Pauley said in a tweet. "I found that from day 1 with [Coach Mox] and staff." 

In her senior season at Milan, Pauley averaged 33 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game and led the Wildcats to their second-consecutive district championship as well as their first conference title in program history. Pauley finished her high school career with 3,074 points, eighth on the all-time scoring list in Missouri girls' basketball history. 

Pauley is the first high school recruit to commit to play for Coach Mox as she begins her tenure at Virginia, but this is the second big-time recruiting victory for Coach Mox this week. On Saturday, Samantha Brunelle, a Notre Dame transfer and former No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2019, announced her commitment to Virginia. Brunelle grew up in Ruckersville, Virginia and attended William Monroe High School in Stanardsville, just down the road from Charlottesville. She played three seasons of basketball at Notre Dame and has two years of eligibility remaining as she makes the move back home to Virginia. 

Coach Mox's efforts to rebuild the Virginia women's basketball program are off to a fast and great start. 


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