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16 CAVALIER CORNER BY JEFF WHITE I n the preseason poll released in Octo- ber, the UVA women's basketball team was picked to finish 11th in the 15- team Atlantic Coast Conference. Low expectations don't bother the Cavaliers' new head coach. "I like being overlooked or being an under- dog," Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said during the ACC's annual media day in Charlotte, N.C. Agugua-Hamilton came to UVA from Mis- souri State, where in three seasons as head coach she posted a 74-15 record, including a 46-6 mark in the Missouri Valley Confer- ence with two trips to the NCAA Tournament. If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lady Bears would have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in all three of those seasons, not just the latter two. Notably, they reached the Sweet 16 in 2020-21. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, have made only one appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past decade, and that was in 2017-18, their last season under head coach Joanne Boyle. When Agugua-Hamilton was hired in March, she took over a program that had finished 5-22 overall and 2-14 in the ACC in 2021-22. In four seasons under her predecessor, Tina Thompson, Virginia posted a disap- pointing overall record of 30-63. But Agu- gua-Hamilton sees better days coming for the Wahoos, starting this season. "I am very confident and excited about what we have, the pieces that we have," Agu- gua-Hamilton said. "I'm very confident in my ability and my staff's ability to put them in positions to be successful." This is a program that under head coach Debbie Ryan made three Final Four appear- ances in the early 1990s and for years was a fixture in the NCAA Tournament. Agugua- Hamilton sees no reason the Hoos cannot rejoin the nation's elite. "We have all the resources we need," she said. "We have great players. There's talent there. There's going to be more talent com- ing. I'm just excited. I'm excited to bridge the gap with the alums again, bring them back. "We've already started doing that, just to make them proud and get this program back to where it needs to be." Agugua-Hamilton's assistant coaches at Missouri State — Alysiah Bond, Tori Jankoska and CJ Jones — followed her to UVA. The players have embraced the coaching staff's vision for the program, said Agugua-Hamil- ton, who goes by "Coach Mox," and she ex- pects the Hoos to have a successful season. "Now, what does that look like?" Agugua- Hamilton said. "I'm not going to come out here and be like, 'Oh, we're going to win a national championship.' Like I tell the play- ers, 'Progress is the process.' We say that almost every day. "I just want to continue to take steps forward. … If we just keep our focus on the little, small victories, I think we'll be all right." Virginia returned seven players from 2021-22: forwards Camryn Taylor, Mir McLean and London Clarkson, and guards Taylor Valladay, Carole Miller, Kaydan Lawson and McKenna Dale. Of the Cavaliers' top six scorers last sea- son, only Amandine Toi has moved on. Taylor averaged 12.8 points, McLean 11.4, Val- laday 9.5, Clarkson 5.2 and Miller 5.1. The 5-foot-11 McLean and the 6-foot-2 Taylor were the team's top rebounders, averaging 8.3 and 6.1 per game, respectively. "Mir is one of the most athletic kids that's come through here," Agugua-Hamilton said, "and she just does things on the court that you don't even really teach. The way that she can affect our defense just by contest- ing a shot or rebounding and affect our offense by mismatches and things like that, she brings a lot to the team." 'PROGRESS 'PROGRESS IS THE IS THE PROCESS' PROCESS' A Confident 'Coach Mox' Sees Better Days Ahead For The UVA Women's Basketball Program