Virginia closed out a trying week for people on Grounds with a 74-60 victory at American on Sunday (Nov. 20) at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.
The win gives the Cavaliers the program’s first 5-0 start since 2015-2016.
Senior guard Taylor Valladay led the Cavaliers in scoring with 19 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
Sam Brunelle added 13 points, and Mir McLean had her third career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Kayla Henning led American (0-3) with 18 points.
American is the reigning Patriot League champion and won last year’s meeting between the two teams at John Paul Jones Arena, 69-56.
“Wins on the road matter. If you want to win in March, you want to win any championships, you have to be able to win on the road,” UVA coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “That was a gutsy performance, but we didn’t really stick to the game plan. I thought we could have been better defensively, and offensively we were taking some uncharacteristic shots. But when we locked in and started doing what we know we could do, then it started flowing, and we were good.”