UVA Women's Basketball Routs Radford 83-41 | Key Takeaways

Matt Newton | Nov 13, 2024

Virginia Athletic

After suffering a humbling lopsided loss at Oklahoma last Friday, Virginia women's basketball returned home and got back to their winning ways, as the Cavaliers (2-1) stormed past Radford (1-3) for an 83-41 victory on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Here are five quick takeaways from UVA's second win of the season:

Yonta Vaughn is back

After missing the first two games of the season with an injury, Yonta Vaughn made her season debut against Radford and didn't disappoint, recording 14 points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Vaughn made her first two three-point attempts, scored six points in the first quarter, and had nine points at halftime. Coach Mox talked about the impact of Vaughn's absence through the first two games, as the Cavaliers were concerningly thin at point guard without a viable option at that position outside of Kymora Johnson. When Johnson got in foul trouble at Oklahoma, Coach Mox says that's when that game really went off the rails. With Vaughn back on the court, Virginia gets its depth back at point guard and it allows Johnson to play off ball whenever she shares the court with Vaughn.

Virginia finds its (potential) starting lineup

UVA has used three different starting lineups in its first three games of the season. Taylor Lauterbach started the first two games of the season at center, but it seems that was because Latasha Lattimore was still working back to 100% conditioning. In the Oklahoma game, Coach Mox was forced to go with her tallest player (Lauterbach) against Raegan Beers, though that didn't work very well. Wednesday night gave us a look at what I think will be Virginia's long-term starting five and maybe UVA's best lineup: Kymora Johnson, Paris Clark, Breona Hurd, Edessa Noyan, and Latasha Lattimore. Virginia jumped out to a 10-3 lead with that lineup, which provides the Hoos with a good mix of size, ball-handling, and shooting.

Read Val's Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here: The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women's Basketball Pounds Radford

Virginia is having issues with ball security

Some turnovers are expected with the pace the Cavaliers like to play, but UVA's quantity of turnovers reaches the threshold of concerning. Virginia turned the ball over 17 times in the season opener against American and then had 21 turnovers in the loss at Oklahoma. This game should have presented an opportunity for the Hoos to tighten up their ball security. Instead, Virginia turned the ball over 21 times again, including five turnovers in the first and third quarters and seven more in the second period. Latasha Lattimore was responsible for six of the turnovers and Paris Clark and Edessa Noyan had four each. It's imperative that the Cavaliers clean up that aspect of the game in this stretch of games against lesser competition.

Continued foul trouble for Edessa Noyan

Edessa Noyan seems to have taken the mantle from Camryn Taylor as this team's foul-out concern. Noyan played just 16 minutes in the opener as she dealt with foul trouble, then picked up four fouls in the Oklahoma game and played less than 20 minutes in that contest. Against Radford, Noyan played only 18 minutes as she picked up her fourth personal foul early in the fourth quarter. It hasn't necessarily cost the Cavaliers in their first three games, each of which have been blowouts, but UVA is going to need Noyan to be on the floor down the stretch.

Virginia flexes its depth, swarms Radford

Taylor Lauterbach was a (seemingly) healthy scratch on Wednesday night, but Virginia still played 10 players, each of whom were on the floor for double-digit minutes. The Cavaliers also extended their up-tempo style of play on the defensive end, executing an effective full-court press that seemed almost cruel when the overmatched Highlanders committed a few backcourt turnovers against the press late in the third quarter when UVA was already up 30. We're not sure if it'll work against better competition, but the Cavaliers have the horses and the athleticism to try the full-court press and it's good to see them working on it in live action.

Up next, Virginia plays the second of a four-game homestand on Sunday afternoon (November 17) against La Salle. Tipoff from John Paul Jones Arena is set for 2pm and the game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

More UVA Women's Basketball News & Content

The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women's Basketball Gets Run Over by Oklahoma

UVA Women's Basketball Falls at No. 10 Oklahoma 95-51 | Key Takeaways

The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women’s Basketball Hits Century Mark Over American

UVA Women's Basketball Beats American 104-68 | Key Takeaways