Observations From the Virginia Women's Basketball Blue-White Scrimmage

What we learned about Coach Mox's Cavaliers from Saturday's scrimmage and what it means for the 2023-2024 season

Virginia women's basketball held its annual Blue-White Scrimmage on Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, giving us our first glimpse of the Cavaliers in their second season under Coach Mox. Click here to watch the highlights from the scrimmage and read on for our full breakdown of what we saw on Saturday 

Kymora Johnson could be the best player on the team.

Virginia's roster is loaded with experienced veterans, but true freshman Kymora Johnson looked like the most talented player on the floor during the scrimmage. That's not exactly unexpected as Johnson comes in as a five-star recruit, a McDonald's All-American, the No. 24 overall prospect in the country, and a two-time Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year, but it's something else to see Johnson control the game despite this being her first taste of college basketball. Johnson tallied 10 points, displayed her smooth jumper that led to her winning the three-point shooting contest at the McDonald's All-American Game, and most impressively, showed elite ball-handling skills and an ability to push the pace with control - exactly what Coach Mox wants to see. UVA is looking to turn a corner this season and who better than the Charlottesville native Kymora Johnson to lead the way as the Cavaliers strive to put this program back on the map. 

Promising newcomers.

We've already talked about Kymora Johnson, who looked spectacular in her first appearance at JPJ on Saturday, but she was hardly the only newcomer to deliver solid performances. Transfer guards Paris Clark and Jillian Brown both seem like they could be key contributors this season, looking comfortable handling the ball, making the right passes, and pushing the ball effectively in transition. Taylor Lauterbach wasn't a focal point of the offense beyond setting screens, although she did stretch the floor with a three-pointer that went down with a friendly bounce, but the 6'7" center will make a much more significant impact on the defensive end and on the glass. Olivia McGhee unfortunately had her afternoon cut shot - and we'll have more on the team's injury concerns later on - but fellow freshman Edessa Noyan was quite impressive. Her jumper looks really sooth, as Noyan made a three-pointer from the left wing and also used a nice half spin move to create space before knocking down an elbow jumper. Noyan has extensive international experience and knows how to use her size at 6'3" to her advantage. My guess is that Kymora Johnson won't be the only freshman getting a lot of playing time this year.

Cady Pauley still letting it fly without hesitation.

Speaking of a nice jump shot, Cady Pauley's confidence seems to have only increased as she enters her sophomore season. Never afraid to fire away from deep, 22 of Pauley's 30 made field goals last season were three-pointers. That trend continued in Saturday's scrimmage, as Pauley knocked down a few threes, including a sweet step-back triple from the left wing. Pauley played around 10 minutes per game last season and the Cavaliers have a much deeper roster this year, but if she can shoot consistently from the perimeter, it'll be hard for Coach Mox to keep Pauley off the floor. 

This year's team should have more versatility on offense. 

Due to injuries and a general lack of depth in personnel, Camryn Taylor was heavily leaned on as the engine of Virginia's offense in the second half of last season. Taylor rose to the occasion, averaging 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and garnering a Second-Team All-ACC selection, but given UVA's lack of additional scoring options, it wasn't enough to produce winning results. Taylor will still be a force with her mid-range jumper and post-up game, but the Cavaliers should have plenty of other scoring threats to take some of the attention away from her. Lauterbach in particular will make it difficult for opposing teams to put too much pressure on Taylor during post-ups and UVA also has more playmaking guards like Johnson, Clark, and Brown (in addition to the returns who can get the ball to those bigs close to the basket. We talk a lot of transition basketball with Coach Mox's fast-paced style of play, but this roster should be able to score at a high level in half-court sets as well. 

Injury Concerns.

Now for the bad news. Yes, Virginia has a much deeper and more complete roster, but it doesn't seem likely that the Cavaliers will have their full complement of 14 players when the season begins. Three players missed Saturday's scrimmage and another suffered a serious injury during it. Sam Brunelle missed the scrimmage as she is still recovering from an offseason foot surgery. The Notre Dame transfer and Ruckersville, Virginia native was on a knee scooter a few weeks ago, but has been seen walking without any assistance since then. According to a report from Greg Madia of the Daily Progress citing a message from a team spokesman, Brunelle is "expected to return by the first game." 

The same unfortunately cannot be said for former UConn transfer Mir McLean, who was Virginia's top rebounder before suffering a season-ending knee injury in a game at NC State in early January. The injury required reconstructive surgery and McLean is still in the midst of a long rehabilitation process. "McLean’s goal is to be cleared to play again in January, around the one-year anniversary of her injury, but the coaching staff isn’t putting any pressure on her," wrote UVA's Jeff White in a feature on McLean's summer travels to Morocco back in August. It therefore seems highly unlikely Virginia will get McLean back until halfway through the season at best. 

Senior guard Kaydan Lawson also didn't play in the scrimmage, but we have received no additional details on her current status. Freshman Olivia McGhee, a 6'2" guard from Louisa County who was the No. 45-ranked recruit in the 2023 class, suffered a knee injury soon after checking into Saturday's scrimmage for the first time. McGhee collided with Taylor Lauterbach while trying to get around a screen and immediately fell to the floor in immense pain. She went to the locker room and was later seen on crutches after the scrimmage. We haven't received an update on the exact nature or severity of the injury. 

Even with these injuries, Virginia's depth is much improved.

Despite having four players miss most or all of the scrimmage, Virginia was still able to do an actual intrasquad scrimmage for the first time in years. Normally, the UVA women's basketball team scrimmages against a practice squad of male players during this event. Instead, the Cavaliers had enough depth this time around to play against themselves, which is a huge step in the right direction for this program. Virginia is certainly hopeful to get its roster fully healthy at some point this season, but even now the Cavaliers have much more talent and depth than last year and should be able to execute Coach Mox's fast-paced style of play. 

The 2023-2024 Virginia women's basketball season is set to begin on Wednesday, November 8th when the Cavaliers host Maryland Eastern Shore at John Paul Jones Arena. 

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