Virginia Women's Basketball Scores 100 Points in Thrashing of UMBC
When Coach Mox stomped her foot on the ground after a UMBC buzzer beater to close out the first half, you would have thought the Cavaliers had just lost the game. In reality, that shot caused Virginia’s lead to dwindle to 50-21 at halftime.
The Cavaliers scored 27 fast break points, 20 second chance points, and 20 points off turnovers to blow out UMBC by a score of 101-46, the team’s first 100-point showing since November 12th, 2017.
In the first quarter, Sam Brunelle drained a three pointer to put the Cavaliers up 10-2 and force the Retrievers to call a timeout. A few minutes later, former UConn transfer Mir McLean scored her first points of the season after missing the season-opener due to injury. The Retrievers hung around through the first quarter by shooting a perfect 8/8 from the free throw line, but the Cavaliers still led 28-18.
The second quarter was the difference maker in the game, with the Cavaliers outscoring the Retrievers 22-3 in the period and putting the game away for good. UMBC was 1/15 from the field, compared to the Cavaliers shooting 9/18 (50%) in the quarter, allowing the Cavaliers to put together such an extended scoring run. The Retrievers finished the game 1/16 (6.3%) from beyond the arc, and the cold shooting performance was untimely as UVA pushed the pace and pounded the glass.
Putting things into perspective even more, the buzzer-beating jumper that frustrated Coach Mox so much was the first time UMBC had scored in seven minutes, when Keelah Dixon made a free throw. The standard of excellence is clear within the Virginia coaching staff because holding a team to three points in a quarter is impressive, but Coach Mox wasn’t satisfied.
After holding a 31-point lead, the Cavaliers were able to move deeper into their rotation, and give more players a chance to see the court and score. In the end, all 11 players who saw the court had over ten minutes of playing time, and all of them scored. Yonta Vaughn had a strong third quarter with seven points, and Alexia Smith buried a deep three in her first appearance of the season after not playing on Monday because of injury like Mir McLean. The Cavaliers shot 55% from the field in the third quarter and outscored UMBC 26-11 to take a 76-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
The 44-point lead may have appeared to be a clear win for the Cavaliers, but the team played as though the score was still close. UVA outscored UMBC 64-20 in the paint, taking advantage of transition baskets and offensive rebounds. UVA had 23 offensive rebounds and 65 total rebounds, marking the first time the Cavaliers recorded 60 or more rebounds in a game since the 2012-2013 season.
A layup from London Clarkson with less than a minute remaining allowed the Cavaliers to cross the century mark and put the finishing touches on a team win, with a 101-46 victory. This is the first time UVA has scored at least 80 points in back-to-back games since 2014.
Sam Brunelle had a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds on 3/7 from beyond the arc, and the Virginia native has been every bit of the firecracker that she was described to be. Camryn Taylor added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Mir McLean had 13 points and eight rebounds to pick up right where she left off last season. To round out the scorers in double figures, London Clarkson and Yonta Vaughn each had ten points off the bench. Alexia Smith had a do-it-all night with five points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Now 2-0 on the season, UVA will have its first ACC matchup on Sunday against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, a major conference test after two early victories.
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