Brunelle Returns, Virginia Women's Basketball Beats William & Mary 80-51

Virginia women's basketball improved to 3-0 on the season with an 80-51 victory over William & Mary on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Jillian Brown led the Cavaliers with 17 points and Sam Brunelle had 12 points in her season debut.

Virginia got off to a fast start in the first quarter, with Jillian Brown scoring a layup just eight seconds in and UVA beginning the game on a 6-0 run. The period was highlighted by the return of Sam Brunelle, who checked into the game for the first time since January 29th. The graduate forward and Ruckersville, Virginia native missed the final eight games of the 2022-2023 season and the first two games of this season with a couple of different injuries. Brunelle scored her first basket in style, faking a handoff to Yonta Vaughn on the baseline and dipping to the basket for a layup.

"It was great to see her out there and just see her smiling," Coach Mox said pf Brunelle after the game. "I know she was so excited and the team was excited to have her back. She's worked really hard in the offseason. She's been through a lot of adversity. She had restricted minutes tonight, but I thought she did great in her time out there."

Despite the fast start, things cooled off and neither team executed at a high level offensively. William & Mary managed to get into the paint with frequency, but couldn't finish. The Tribe shot 3/14 (21.4%) from the floor in the first quarter and the Cavaliers weren't much better, shooting 6/22 (27.3%) and winning the quarter 14-8.

Kymora Johnson converted a circus layup in transition and Jillian Brown knocked down a three to cap a 7-0 run that gave Virginia a 23-11 lead. But then foul trouble began to be an issue for the Cavaliers, with Camryn Taylor and London Clarkson both picking up their second personal fouls. William & Mary capitalized and mounted a quick 6-0 scoring run to get back within single digits.

With their forwards in foul trouble, the Cavaliers leaned on their guard play, with Johnson scoring six points in the second quarter and Brown adding five. Brown was the game's leading scorer and rebounder at halftime with nine points and six boards to help Virginia take a 34-23 halftime lead.

Johnson picked up where she left off coming out of halftime, opening the third quarter with a deep three from the left wing. But fouls continued to be a problem for Virginia, with Clarkson picking up her third foul and then Taylor joining her as she was whistled for an offensive foul just three minutes into the second half.

William & Mary continued to keep things close, with Nylah Young scoring 11 points in the third quarter to get the Tribe back within six. But Virginia ended the period strong thanks to a big spark from Brunelle, who knocked down a pair of three pointers in the final 90 seconds of the quarter. UVA made five-straight buckets to end the third and it was nearly six-straight as a half-court heave from Kymora Johnson bounced off the front of the rim. Nevertheless, Virginia took a 53-41 lead to the fourth quarter.

Throughout her career, Camryn Taylor has continually proven to be a clutch player, delivering her best basketball in the fourth quarter. That trend has continued early this season and was the case once again on Wednesday night. Taylor opened the final period with a tough basket plus a foul, made two more free throws, and then a turnaround jumper as part of an 11-2 run that gave Virginia a 64-43 lead three minutes into the fourth.

The game was essentially in hand after that, but freshman Olivia McGhee made sure to leave her imprint on the game late with 10 fourth-quarter points, including a pair of threes. The Tribe made just four field goals and Virginia outscored William & Mary 27-10 in the fourth quarter, rolling to an 80-51 win.

11 different Cavaliers scored in the game, headlined by Jillian Brown, who had 17 points on 7/13 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Brown was +31 in 27 minutes of action.

"I thought JJ [Jillian Brown] played with urgency on both sides of the ball," said Coach Mox. "Her pace, I thought, was great on offense. She was getting downhill, pushing in transition, opened it up, hit a three. And defensively, she did a great job getting through screens, tip steals, rebounding, all of that. I just thought she was really urgent in the way she approached the game today and her stats reflected that."

Sam Brunelle shook the rust off pretty easily in her debut, making four of her six field goals, including two threes, and recording 12 points and four rebounds.

"It was amazing just to be back out there. It's been a long process with getting back," Brunelle said. "Just to be back out there with them was just so much joy and happiness. I thought I was gonna get a little nervous, but I actually, when I got on the court, I wasn't nervous, I was just happy. And so I think that made getting to my shots easier and having that confidence."

Camryn Taylor (12 points, 7 rebounds), Kymora Johnson (11 points, 3 assists), and Olivia McGhee (10 points, 2 steals) also scored in double figures. Virginia outrebounded William & Mary 56-38 and points in the paint were 42-24 in favor of the Cavaliers.

"I think we had to kind of weather the storm - it was a little bit of a dogfight early. We're still getting used to the system. We're still getting used to all these different lineups we have. People are coming back, it was great to have Sam back," Coach Mox said. "So we just have to get our chemistry a little bit better on the offensive end. But I thought defensively, we were really solid the whole game."

Now 3-0, Virginia will face its first big test of the season when No. 25 Oklahoma visits John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday at 2pm. That game will be televised on the ACC Network.

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