Charlottesville, VA (cvillerightnow.com): The UVA Women’s Basketball team wrapped up their non-conference slate on Saturday with a game against the Coppin State Eagles at John Paul Jones Arena.  Though a nervous second half kept the Hoos on their toes, multiple standout games from multiple players, both in the starting five and on the bench proved enough to carry the day, for a final score of 74-66.   

Long, unbroken scoring runs in the first two quarters of play gave the Hoos a sizable lead going into half-time.  UVA’s offense was clicking with solid passing and pinpoint shooting, yet the defense was suspect at points against a team from the MEAC with limited scoring abilities in the non-conference so far.  The first half ended 47-29 with UVA leading.  Defensive miscues proved to be prophetic for the second half, as Coppin State came out swinging from the locker room, outscoring the Hoos 37-27 in the second half, and cutting the Cavaliers’ 20-point lead down to just one in the fourth quarter.  However, a timely three pointer from Edessa Noyan started another late run for the Hoos that allowed them to see the game off and avoid a costly defeat.   

Latasha Lattimore owned the floor for UVA with a marvelous 18 points and six rebounds, followed closely by Noyan, who chipped in with 16 points and 6 rebounds, going 5-6 from field goal range, and coming up clutch with five points in the fourth quarter alone. This game was important to set the tone for the ACC slate going forward, and all involved with the program, players, coaches, and fans will be very pleased the Cavalier Women were able to go into Christmas with a victory.  Said Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton of the win, “Obviously, we made that pretty close at the end. Give Coppin State a lot of credit for keeping their fight up. I was just happy that we didn’t crumble when we hit some adversity, and we were able to pull out the win.” 

The Hoos take the court again in one week’s time, this time in South Bend, Indiana to take on the #3 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  The Irish, last time out, sent Loyala Maryland packing via a 43-point blowout of 97-54, they are 9-2 on the year.