Virginia Women's Basketball Falls in Physical Battle at Virginia Tech 74-66
The Commonwealth Clash is always a gritty fight between Virginia and Virginia Tech, no matter the sport. That the 13-1 Cavaliers were looking to prove themselves against the ninth-ranked Hokies added another element of intrigue. Next, consider that the 2022 ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley missed the game for Virginia Tech due to an ankle injury, and the Cavaliers had a golden opportunity in front of them.
With all these factors in play, this was a major test for Coach Mox and her Virginia women's basketball team. After an impressive first half from the Cavaliers, the Hokies showed why they are so highly regarded with impressive execution down the stretch on their home court, making play after play to stifle UVA's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter as Virginia Tech held off Virginia for a 74-66 win on Thursday night at Cassell Coliseum.
Early baskets from Camryn Taylor, Yonta Vaughn, and London Clarkson helped UVA build an early 10-6 lead. From there, Virginia Tech went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-13 lead and force UVA to call a timeout. The Cavaliers struggled to fight the zone defense of the Hokies, leading to six first quarter turnovers. Taylor Valladay drained a three pointer in the final minute of the quarter, and after one period, Virginia Tech led 17-16.
Coming off of a 24-point game against UNC, Georgia Amoore had seven early points for the Hokies, as she looked to shoulder an even larger offensive load with the absence of Kitley.
Camryn Taylor scored two buckets midway through the second quarter to give UVA a 22-21 lead. Taylor was a one woman wrecking crew in the second quarter, scoring ten points in the quarter alone, including three layups with a foul where she twice converted the three-point plays.
After six ties and six lead changes in the second quarter, the teams were tied 32-32 going into halftime. Camryn Taylor led the Cavaliers in scoring with 12 points, and Taylor Soule had ten points for the Hokies.
UVA had six more turnovers in the second quarter, resulting in 13 Hokie points. Had the Cavaliers taken better care of the ball, they might've taken a lead and some more momentum into halftime. Cleaning up the turnovers would be important in the second half.
In the third quarter, Mir McLean made two shots to give the Cavaliers a 37-36 lead, but then Virginia Tech responded with an 8-0 run. A timeout by Coach Mox failed to slow the opponent down, and Virginia Tech led 44-36.
Carole Miller stopped the run by taking it all the way down the court for a layup and the foul. Cady Pauley drained a three, just the third of the game for the Cavaliers after taking 13 shots from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers looked like they would crawl back to within three points as the third quarter drew to an end, but Georgia Amoore made a step back three pointer at the top of the key to give Virginia Tech a 51-45 lead.
Entering this game, UVA had outscored opponents 301-184 in the third quarter, but Virginia Tech broke this trend and used the third quarter to build a bit of a lead after outscoring UVA 19-13.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the two teams traded layups, gearing up for a well-fought quarter. Sam Brunelle came up big with a three-pointer to make it 53-50, but that would be the closest the Cavaliers would come to tying the game, as Virginia Tech’s Taylor Soule put the ball on the floor and drove for a tough layup. Celebrating her birthday, Soule was a beast on both ends of the court, with 18 points and a number of key stops as a part of Tech's zone defense.
Kayana Traylor put together her own personal 5-0 run to give the Hokies a 60-52 lead, which would be a tough hole for UVA to climb out of.
Coming out of a media timeout, UVA put the press on and forced a Hokie turnover, which later led to two free throws from Taylor Valladay. However, every time the Cavaliers put together a solid play and scored, the Hokies would respond. For example, Sam Brunelle made it 64-60 with a great post move, but then Tech’s Cayla King drilled a triple to push the deficit back to seven points.
Next, Camryn Taylor made two layups, but Georgia Amoore coolly buried a three-pointer in response. Truly every Cavalier punch down the stretch was countered with a bigger punch from Virginia Tech.
After that, the Hoos committed their 17th turnover of the game, and the Hokies went 4/4 from the line to regain a more comfortable lead. An offensive foul on Camryn Taylor with less than a minute to go solidified the fate of the Cavaliers, whose valiant attempts to come back were futile against the veteran Hokie team. Virginia Tech won by a score of 74-66.
“I guess we are always disappointed after a loss, but I thought Virginia Tech was a better team today," said UVA head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton after the game. "They faced a lot of adversity, had some kids out. And some kids stepped up. I didn't think that we completely executed the game plan, which is frustrating but at the end of the day, it's an opportunity for us to learn and grow and get to that level.”
For the Hokies, Georgia Amoore had 22 points and Taylor Soule added ten rebounds to her 18-point game.
Camryn Taylor was the leading scorer for Virginia with 18 points, and Mir McLean and Sam Brunelle each had 11. Carole Miller added a season-high nine rebounds for the team.
The win earns a half-point for Virginia Tech in the 2022-2023 Commonwealth Clash, which Virginia now leads 4.5-1.0. The other women's basketball half-point will be up for grabs when these two teams meet again back in Charlottesville on January 29th.
Now 13-2 and 2-2 in ACC play, Virginia will have little time to recover before facing a second-consecutive ranked opponent on the road as the Cavaliers travel to Raleigh to face No. 10 NC State on Sunday afternoon.
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