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18 CAVALIER CORNER including 34 starts in two seasons at North- western, Brown has experience and is a capable scorer. Last season, she scored a career-high 18 points in the Wildcats' win over Michigan while adding 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Like Johnson, Clark was also a McDonald's High School All-American and was tabbed the No. 33 incoming transfer in the nation according to ESPN. In one season at Arizona, she appeared in 24 games, including 14 Pac-12 matchups. Agugua-Hamilton hopes the addition of Brown and Clark will bolster Virginia's guard unit, giving it even more versatility. "Most of [the guards] are versatile, but we do have some that are better shooters than others or some that are better defend- ers than others or some that are taller than others," she said. "So, they all kind of have their place and know where they can help us. But I think guard play is huge. And if we can be deep in that spot, that's going to help us be deep this season." At 6-foot-7, Lauterbach adds much-needed height for the Cava- liers and is by far the tallest player on this year's roster. A standout in the classroom, Lauterbach gradu- ated from K-State in just three years and was a two-time Academic All- Big 12 first-team selection. Agugua-Hamilton believes Laut- erbach's presence will serve to the benefit of UVA's other post players, which include 2023 second-team All-ACC selection Camryn Taylor, London Clarkson and Noyan. Of Lauterbach, Agugua-Hamilton said she, "gives us depth … at the post position, but then it also allows some [others] to play the four, which is their natural position." In addition to Taylor, who averaged a team-best 13.9 points per game last season, the Cavaliers also re- turn Sam Brunelle, Kaydan Lawson, Cady Pauley, Mir McLean, Alexia Smith, Yonta Vaughn and Clarkson. Brunelle and McLean were two of the injured scratches towards the back half of the 2022-23 campaign as they combined to miss 21 games in the final two months of the sea- son. Lawson also had offseason sur- gery and, like Brunelle and McLean, is expected to miss the first few games of the 2023-24 season. With regard to the team's existing injuries, Agugua-Hamilton told her team they need to have a "next-woman-up mentality." "If somebody goes down, fortunately we have more bodies this year than we did last year," she added. "People [have] to step up. I'm just happy that none of them are season-ending injuries at this point." The Cavaliers won't have too much time to get acquainted with one another as UVA opened its season with four consecutive home games. After cruising to wins against Maryland Eastern Shore (76-52) Nov. 8, Campbell (74-49) Nov. 12 and William & Mary (80- 51) Nov. 15, the Cavaliers hosted Oklahoma, which advanced to the round of 32 in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Sooners knocked off the Hoos 82-67 in a hard-fought game. At the Cayman Islands Classic Nov. 24-25, UVA rebounded for an 81-59 win over Tulane before nearly knocking off reigning national champion LSU. In a game that featured 14 lead changes and 12 ties, the No. 7-ranked Tigers survived and edged Virginia 76-73. The Cavaliers were set to take on Missouri as part of the inaugural ACC/SEC challenge Nov. 30, before wrapping up nonconference play with four contests in December. On New Year's Eve, UVA opens conference play when it hosts North Carolina State. Including the Wolf- pack, Virginia's ACC schedule partners also consist of Duke, Virginia Tech and North Carolina, all of which the Hoos will take on twice this season, once at JPJ and once on the road. Despite Virginia's injury woes last season, Agugua-Hamilton was proud of how her team fought until the very end. "I just loved our resilience," she said. "I always talk to them about persevering through adversity. We had so much adversity, but we never stopped. We played a game toward the end of the year with six avail- able players, which is unheard of." She expects nothing less from this year's team, which is deeper and perhaps poised for more games in March. "Most importantly for our team to be successful — our system is predicated around togetherness. We say 'family' off the court, but it is on the court as well because that's how we play." 2023-24 UVA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time/Result (ET) Nov. 8 Maryland Eastern Shore W, 76-52 Nov. 12 Campbell W, 74-49 Nov. 15 William & Mary W, 80-51 Nov. 19 Oklahoma L, 82-67 Nov. 24 vs. Tulane^ W, 81-59 Nov. 25 vs. LSU^ L, 76-73 Nov. 30 Missouri% (ACCN) 5 p.m. Dec. 3 at La Salle (ESPN+) 1 p.m. Dec. 6 Rider (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Dec. 16 Wofford (ACCNX) 1 p.m. Dec. 21 Fordham (ACCNX) 6 p.m. Dec. 31 North Carolina State* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Jan. 4 at Georgia Tech* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Jan. 7 Duke* (CW) 12 p.m. Jan. 11 at North Carolina State* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at North Carolina* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Jan. 18 Notre Dame* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at Florida State* (ACCNX) 2 p.m. Jan. 25 Pittsburgh* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Jan. 28 North Carolina* (CW) 12 p.m. Feb. 1 at Virginia Tech* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 4 Clemson* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Feb. 8 at Boston College* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Wake Forest* (ACCNX) 2 p.m. Feb. 18 Syracuse* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Feb. 22 Miami* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at Louisville* (CW) 12 p.m. Feb. 29 at Duke* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Mar. 3 Virginia Tech* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Mar. 6-10 ACC Tournament$ TBD ^ Cayman Islands Classic at George Town, Grand Cayman; % ACC/SEC Challenge'* ACC game; $ at Greensboro, N.C. First-year guard Kymora Johnson started the first six games of the season and averaged 11.2 points, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. (Photo courtesy UVA)