Virginia Women's Basketball Routs Wake Forest 72-52 to Win ACC Opener

The Cavaliers rolled over the Demon Deacons to win their ACC opener for the first time since 2017

Last year, the Virginia women’s basketball team went 2-16 in ACC play and lost to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC tournament. In the first year under new head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, the Cavaliers are starting out ACC play 1-0. 

A 27-11 third quarter helped turn a tight five-point game at halftime into a 20-point win for Virginia, who took down Wake Forest 72-52 in the ACC opener on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena. 

Wake Forest started off the scoring with a pair of three-pointers, but the Cavaliers bounced back with a 10-0 run, featuring two three-point shots by Taylor Valladay.

The Demon Deacons shot 4/6 from beyond the arc in the first quarter and held 14-12 lead. Despite only shooting 5/18 (27.8%) from the field, the Cavaliers managed to keep the score close by forcing six turnovers and scoring seven points off of those turnovers.

Camryn Taylor was a catalyst in the second quarter, staying on the floor for all ten minutes and scoring nine points. The Cavaliers executed an 8-0 run to start the quarter that included three layups, as UVA dominated the paint to the tune of a 28-16 advantage in paint points over the course of the game. 

Virginia led 26-16 before Wake Forest responded with a 7-0 run to pull within three. But, the Cavaliers outscored the Demon Deacons 18-11 in the period to take a 30-25 lead at the end of the half. UVA played a clean first half with only five turnovers, while forcing ten.

Kaydan Lawson came up big to start the second half, draining two three pointers during a 12-0 run to start the third quarter, giving the Cavaliers a 42-25 lead. On the defensive end, Mir McLean took two charges and contributed to a few other turnovers that helped make the run happen.

The Cavaliers added another 10-0 run to push the score from 44-31 to 54-31, taking total control of the game. Wake Forest couldn’t find the bottom of the net (3/12 from the field and 0/5 from three) while Virginia was deadly from three, shooting 4/8 in the quarter.

The third quarter was the Kaydan Lawson show. She scored 13 points on 4/5 shooting and added five rebounds. When the buzzer sounded after three quarters, the Cavaliers had turned a five-point game into a 57-36 blowout after outscoring the Demon Deacons 27-11.

Wake Forest picked up the pace to try and make a comeback in the fourth quarter. The Demon Deacons had 13 rebounds, six of them offensive rebounds, with five minutes to go in the game. Wake Forest ended up outscoring UVA 16-15 in the fourth quarter, but the damage was already done at that point. This was a statement win for the Cavaliers, who hope to make a splash in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference in year one of the Coach Mox era.

Kaydan Lawson had 15 points, six rebounds, and three steals to lead the Cavaliers. Camryn Taylor had 13 points and Sam Brunelle had 12 points and seven rebounds as other big contributors. Mir McLean added six points, five rebounds, and an amazing five steals as a key defensive factor.

Now 3-0, Virginia will go on the road for the first time this season, taking a trip to Chicago to take on Loyola on Wednesday at 7pm. 

To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:

Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN