Instant Takeaways From UVA’s Drexel Win

Virginia women's basketball is now at a perfect 4-0 to start the 2026-27 campaign. The latest win, an 81-39 romp over Drexel, was a particularly comfortable win after a slow start in the first quarter.

Here are instant takeaways from the Cavaliers' latest victory at John Paul Jones Arena:

The Breona Hurd breakout season is officially here

The third-year forward has scored at least 11 points in every game this season. Tonight, she took center stage. Hurd led the Cavaliers with a game-high 18 points — including a dazzling 4-7 performance from three-point range. She also added four rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal.

If Virginia continues to get this version of Hurd, an NCAA Tournament run similar to last year is certainly on the table.

Mary-Anna Asare really is the perfect running mate for Kymora Johnson

Johnson is the heart and soul of this team. But Virginia paired a 5-7 ball-dominant guard with a 5-foot-8 ball dominant guard in Asare — with no guarantee they could coexist in at their best.

So far, they have.

Tonight, Johnson and Asare combined to shoot 6-9 from three-point land — and they were sound defensively once again. They can afford to be aggressive on the perimeter while Hurd, Caterina Piatti and other big forwards lock down the interior.

Team defense was stellar, and the offense supports it

After falling into a 12-7 deficit, the Cavaliers outscored the Dragons 69-27. Drexel never scored more than 15 points in any quarter.

It is extremely rare to see a college basketball team score fewer than 40 points. Somehow, the Dragons ended up on the wrong side of that statistic. A lot of credit should go to Virginia's defense. Drexel made just 27.1% of its attempts (24% from three). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers won the rebounding battle 47-23.

Turnovers were concerning

As a team, Virginia lost 14 turnovers. It only forced 11. That's a discrepancy that cannot happen against better teams. Drexel is a bottomfeeder in the CAA — a far cry from the trials of the ACC.

Asare lost three turnovers, Adeang Ring had three, and six other players lost some. Coach Aaron Roussell likes to maximize possessions. It's hard to do that when the other team is gifted free fastbreak opportunities due to mental errors or reckless play. This will be something to monitor in the next few games before a big clash with Oklahoma.

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