Virginia led almost wire to wire in an 81-59 victory over High Point in the first round of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament Thursday night.
The win marked UVA’s first in postseason play since 2018.
With the win, the Cavaliers (16-15) advance to the WBIT second round and travel to No. 1 seed Villanova (19-12) on Sunday. Tipoff time is expected to be announced later this evening or early Friday morning. Sunday’s contest is slated to air on ESPN+.
Five Cavaliers scored in double figures, including Paris Clark, who finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and tied her career high of six steals. Camryn Taylor (13 points), Alexia Smith (13 points, 6-of-12 FG), Sam Brunelle (11 points, 4-of-6 FG) and Kymora Johnson (10 points, 5-of-11 FG, 6 assists) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for UVA.
Edessa Noyan tallied a career-high 10 rebounds.
Virginia logged 42 points in the paint, only four shy of its season high.
The Panthers (20-12) committed 24 turnovers, the second most by a UVA opponent this season.
High Point’s Bukky Akinsola recorded a game-high 21 points after shooting 9-of-14 from the field. Seventeen of her 21 total points came in the first half.
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Chris Graham
