Virginia Rallies to Beat Missouri in Emotional Win for Coach Mox
Less than 24 hours before she was set to coach her team in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, Virginia women's basketball head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton received tragic news in the middle of the night that her father had passed away unexpectedly.
"It was a very difficult day for me," Coach Mox said on Thursday. "The way that my players and staff rallied around me all day - flowers, text messages, cards, all that stuff - it just showed a lot of love and just really shows how much we love each other and how far our culture has come. And I just appreciate them so much, even beyond how we played tonight, this whole day meant a lot to me."
When asked if she considered not coaching in the game, Coach Mox said it wasn't a question of if, but how.
"I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I knew I wanted to do it, because that's how much I care about this group of people," said Coach Mox. "But I'm happy I did, I'm happy I was able to experience all the love I experienced today."
On a day that was so much bigger than basketball, Coach Mox's Cavaliers came through for their coach.
Despite trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, Virginia (5-2) stormed back in the third quarter and then made several clutch plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter and overtime to hang on for a significant 87-81 victory over Missouri (5-3) in the inaugural ACC/SEC Women's Basketball Challenge on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena.
Virginia got off to a decent start offensively, taking an early lead thanks to a three-pointer from Sam Brunelle. It was a back-and-forth affair in the initial stages of the first quarter, with UVA taking an 11-10 lead on a second-chance layup from Alexia Smith. Then, the Cavaliers went nearly four minutes without a bucket, allowing Missouri to go on a 16-2 run to build a 26-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers, who came in shooting 40.2% from three as a team, good for 13th in the country, delivered as advertised, knocking down three of their four attempts from beyond the arc in the first quarter. Missouri shot 57% from the floor in the first period as compared to a lowly 24% for Virginia.
Missouri extended its lead to 28-13 to start the second quarter, but Virginia responded as Cady Pauley hit a three and then Kymora Johnson found a cutting London Clarkson for a layup, prompting a quick timeout from Missouri as the Cavaliers got back within 10 points.
Things unraveled in the next few minutes for Virginia, as starting guards Kymora Johnson and Paris Clark both picked up their second personal fouls and exited the game and then Sam Brunelle, another starter, exited the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury and did not return.
Missouri continued to execute at a high level offensively and a three-pointer from Hayley Frank gave the Tigers a 36-22 lead with four and a half minutes left in the quarter. From there, however, the Cavaliers flipped a switch defensively and held Missouri scoreless for the final 4:32 of the half.
Virginia didn't fully capitalize on that scoring drought, but still ended the second quarter on a 6-0 run to make it 36-28 in favor of Missouri at halftime. The Tigers shot 50% from three (5/10) in the first half, while the Cavaliers, who shot the three ball well in their two games in the Caymans last week, shot just 2/12 from downtown in the first half. Camryn Taylor led Virginia with 10 points and Ashton Judd had 10 points to pace the Tigers. Missouri outrebounded Virginia 28-15 in the first half.
Virginia continued that momentum in the third quarter and, as has been the case so many times already this season, proved to be a second-half team. As usual, it was Camryn Taylor who provided the spark with an and-one. London Clarkson followed that up with a layup and then UVA forced a turnover in the backcourt, with Johnson stealing the ball and dishing to Alexia Smith for a layup. The Cavaliers went on an 11-0 run to take their first lead since the early stages of the first quarter.
The story of Virginia's turnaround third quarter was a significant disparity in total shot attempts. Missouri shot 50% from the floor in the period, but attempted only 10 shots due to turnovers. Meanwhile, UVA attempted 22 shots and shot 45.5% from the field. The Cavaliers scored eight points off of eight Missouri turnovers and also scored seven second-chance points on seven offensive rebounds, while the Tigers did not have a single offensive rebound, a significant change after they had eight offensive boards in the first half.
UVA held Missouri without a field goal for more than four minutes in the latter half of the quarter and Virginia ultimately outscored Missouri 27-13 in the period to take a 55-49 lead into the final frame.
For as well as the Cavaliers played in the third quarter defensively, they allowed the Tigers to get going from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Grace Slaughter and Hayley Frank knocked down two threes apiece and scored a combined 19 points in the fourth quarter to help Missouri hang around, and eventually, send the game to overtime.
Paris Clark scored a couple of clutch baskets, including a finger roll layup that gave the Cavaliers a 73-69 lead with just 44 seconds remaining in regulation. Slaughter answered with a corner three off a great pass from Mama Dembele to cut it to one. Virginia ran the clock down and then, showing that no moment is too big for the true freshman, Kymora Johnson knifed to the basket for a layup off the glass to push the UVA lead back to three.
Needing just one stop to win the game, Virginia couldn't quite slam the door as Jillian Brown fouled Hayley Frank on a three-pointer and Frank made all three free throws to send the game to overtime.
Virginia and Missouri traded baskets to start the overtime period and then UVA scored six-straight points to seize control of the game. Brown fed a gorgeous pass underneath the basket to London Clarkson, who finished the layup to give Virginia the lead. On UVA's next possession, Johnson was fouled and missed both free throws, but she atoned for those misses on the next trip down as she scored a tough layup off the backboard to put Virginia ahead by four. UVA got another stop and then Jillian Brown was fouled and made two free throws to essentially ice the game, with the Cavaliers leading by six with less than a minute to play.
Free throws were particularly important in this game, as Virginia made its first 12 free throws and finished 18/23 from the charity stripe (78.3%), while Missouri was 18/26 (69.2%). Hayley Frank led the Tigers with 21 points and seven rebounds and three other Missouri players scored in double figures.
For UVA, it was the veteran forward Camryn Taylor once again leading the way with 26 points and nine rebounds, with 16 of those points coming after halftime. Paris Clark came up big in the second half with 12 points and she finished with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals, doing a little bit of everything. London Clarkson had 17 points and Alexia Smith had a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double. Kymora Johnson added nine points and seven assists.
Taylor, who lost her mother to cancer a little over two years ago, understood what Coach Mox was going through and recognized how valuable the support of the team would be.
"We just rallied behind coach. And I think that's important, she needs us just as much as we need her," Taylor said after the game. "It sucks, but we're here - we're here to support. She knows that, we know that, and I don't think there's gonna be anything that she can't get through."
It was a big win for the Cavaliers to knock off a quality non-conference opponent, but it was an even more important victory given all of the emotions of the day. On what was surely one of the most difficult days of her life, Coach Mox's team gave her a reason to feel joy and pride.
"I was really proud of how we played," said Coach Mox. "Obviously we started slow, but when we got it going, we did some great things. And I just know we're gonna continue to take steps to get better."
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