Cavaliers Now

The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women's Basketball Buries Bethune-Cookman

Taylor Lauterbach keyed a team effort as Virginia handily defeated Bethune-Cookman 82-48.

Val Prochaska

Virginia Athletic

Virginia women's basketball improved to 5-1 on the season with an 82-48 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Sunday evening at John Paul Jones Arena. Val has the Plus/Minus to break down the Cavaliers' victory.

Plus

A win is a win is a win.  In their final tune-up before the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout, the Virginia Cavaliers started slowly, but then so did the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. It was 15-5 after one frame and both teams would ramp up their offensive intensity for the remaining three quarters.

Plus

Taylor Lauterbach had maybe her finest collegiate game.  I say maybe because I didn’t see her at Kansas State, but she certainly had her best game for Virginia.  She recorded her first career double-double, scoring 10 points and snaring 10 rebounds.  She was 4/6 from the field and a perfect 2/2 from beyond the arc.  Taylor had only made four in her career, so this counts as an eruption.  In her second year at Virginia, Lauterbach is showing much more promise.  Of course, last year she got bench minutes playing behind Cam Taylor, Sam Brunelle and London Clarkson.  And she was pretty much a stiff.  But she’s stepping up this year and has become a valuable role player.

Plus

Latasha Lattimore was one of three Cavaliers to record double digit rebounds.  I had prepared my snarky line about her desire to dribble the ball coast-coast and eschew the outlet pass… and lo and behold, she didn’t do that once.  Every one of her 13 boards she looked to feed a guard or wing.  It’s a better team move.

Read More: Matt's Five Takeaways

Plus

Olivia McGhee, who along with Lauterbach, was one of the few bright spots shooting from deep.  McGhee was 4/7 from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 20 points.  She was a perfect 2/2 from the free throw line, is now connecting at 90% for her career, and is the person I want most at the charity stripe when the game is on the line.  She has a beautiful shot.

I've said it several times this year already, but McGhee runs the court on the break better than anyone. Even when she's not finishing it.

Minus

Breona Hurd got a 15 point double-double of her own, but she tried to take at least three fast breaks to the rim, all at a 1 v 2 disadvantage.  She missed all three.  While Kymora Johnson was successful going coast-coast, we must remember this is Bethune-Cookman.  1 v 2 is a losing proposition in the ACC.

Plus

For the second game in a row, the Hoos scored directly off the opening tip.  Now this is where Hurd really shines, slicing in from below the elbow.  She can go from the arc to the rim in just two steps.

Plus

Yonta Vaughn had nine assists.  Against two turnovers.  On the night, she was much steadier than Johnson.  It seems coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has borrowed a page from the Tony Bennett playbook of using two point guards wherever possible.  Anything that gives Johnson more space to operate is a win in my book.

Minus

Edessa Noyan and Paris Clark sat out again.  This is two games now for Noyan and three for Clark, though Coach Mox did indicate that Clark was soon to return.

Next Up:  The women head off to Puerto Rico to get tournament seasoning from a three-games-in-three-days format. The men got #11 Tennessee and #22 St Johns in their offshore tour; the women do not have such illustrious competition, but in Green Bay, Washington State and Wyoming, the challenge should be greater than that provided by Bethune-Cookmans and Alabama States of the world.  The games are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, respectively, and all will feature on FloSports.

More UVA Women's Basketball News & Content

UVA Women's Basketball Suffocates Bethune-Cookman 82-48 | Key Takeaways


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UVA Women's Basketball Crushes Alabama State 85-50 | Key Takeaways

The Plus/Minus: UVA Women's Basketball Overwhelms La Salle

UVA Women's Basketball Smothers La Salle 76-47 | Key Takeaways

Published
Val Prochaska
VAL PROCHASKA

Val graduated from the University of Virginia in the last millennium, back when writing one's senior thesis by hand was still a thing. He is a lifelong fan of the ACC, having chosen the Tobacco Road conference ahead of the Big East. Again, when that was still a thing. Val has covered Virginia men's basketball for seven years, first with HoosPlace and then with StreakingTheLawn, before joining us here at Virginia Cavaliers on SI in August of 2023, continuing to cover UVA men's basketball and also writing about women's soccer and women's basketball.