The catalyst to Virginia’s success Wednesday night, as per usual, was sophomore guard Kymora Johnson. Coming off of a 20-point outing in a Nov. 17 win against La Salle, Johnson kept the hot hand with 22 more points against Alabama State. She scored the game’s first five points to set the tone for a commanding 85-50 win for the Cavaliers (4-1, 0-0 ACC) over the Hornets (2-2, 0-0 SWAC) at John Paul Jones Arena.
Alongside Johnson, three other Cavaliers reached double-digit scoring. Senior forward Latasha Lattimore and freshman forward Breona Hurd both put up 13 points, and sophomore guard Olivia McGhee contributed 12.
Junior guard Yonta Vaughn also tormented the Hornets. She consistently got two feet in the paint, which forced the Alabama State defense to collapse and ultimately created open looks for Virginia shooters all around the court. Vaughn paced the Cavaliers with seven assists Wednesday night.
The defensive energy would turn up as well coming out of the first under-five timeout, when Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton deployed a full-court press, immediately forcing turnovers on consecutive Alabama State possessions.
“Sometimes, if we are a little bit flat, it just helps us get energy,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “That's the biggest thing. Get you a couple of tip steals and just easy buckets.”
Up until the timeout midway through the first quarter, Alabama State had kept the score tight at 11-7. From that point, the Cavaliers ended the quarter on a 14-0 run and never looked back.
Lattimore was at the heart of the strong victory. She was active on the glass early and often, grabbing seven boards in the first quarter alone. Lattimore, who entered the contest averaging 8.2 rebounds, tallied 13 boards to match her 13 points, marking a season-high in both categories.
“I noticed that I've gotten a lot better since I've gotten to Virginia, been doing a lot more, like rebounding, for example,” Lattimore said. “Coach Mox gets on me every day.”
Lattimore’s frontcourt mate, graduate center Taylor Lauterbach, put up an impressive performance as well. She contributed eight points, four rebounds and two blocks on 100 percent shooting. Lauterbach, who has been in and out of the starting lineup throughout the first five games, earned the starting nod Wednesday.
Additionally, freshman guard Payton Dunbar put up an encouraging outing. Dunbar, touted for her sharpshooting abilities, had struggled from long range entering the game — she was shooting just 18.2 percent on three-pointers and had connected on only two three-pointers all season.
Dunbar went 2-5 from three-point range, an encouraging sign for the freshman and even more so for Virginia. The efficiency is a marked improvement and the volume displays that Dunbar has not lost confidence in her stroke, which will be essential in forcing opposing defenders to respect her shot.
The recipe for success ultimately proved to be efficient penetration by Virginia’s guards, leading to advantages on the perimeter, where swift ball movement provided open looks at three-pointers or clear lanes to the basket. The Cavaliers’ backcourt display allowed them to outshoot Alabama State by 21 percent, a key factor in the win.
Wednesday's outcome is another promising sign, giving the Cavaliers their third consecutive win since their loss to the Sooners. All of Virginia's wins have come by way of blowouts of at least 29 points. The team’s one loss was a 95-51 walloping from No. 10 Oklahoma, so it remains to be seen how the Cavaliers will fare in a tight contest against an opponent of similar size, athleticism and prowess.
Virginia will be back in action at home against Bethune-Cookman Sunday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m., and the game can be streamed on ACC Network.
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