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6 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier sports T hird-year guard Jillian Brown transferred to Virginia this offseason after playing two seasons at Northwestern, where she ap- peared in 57 games and averaged 8.0 points 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest. Cavalier Corner sat down with Brown to discuss her transition to UVA and how she sees herself fitting in with the program, which is in Year 2 under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. Cavalier Corner: After you entered the transfer portal, why did you ultimately de- cide to come to UVA? Brown: "It was mainly just the family at- mosphere and the culture. It's a very strong culture. The whole staff and team has strong values that we practice every day. "The education and Coach Mox's style of play was a big reason, too." Cavalier Corner: Now that you've lived in Charlottesville for a few months, what are some of your favorite qualities or amenities it has to offer? Brown: "I love nature. I've been on a few hikes already. There's good food here, too, and I like the weather so far." Cavalier Corner: Coach Mox encourages the team to play an up-tempo style of play. What has that been like for you and how do your strengths fit into the system? Brown: "I like how fast we play and how we're encouraged to be aggressive. I think it fits my game because I like to play fast and in transition. I think also defensively it's a really good fit for me with my athleticism as a guard, and my length fits really well into what Coach Mox wants on both offense and defense. "It's been really nice being able to play like that because that's truly how I like to play. It's just a natural fit." Cavalier Corner: It was recently an- nounced that UVA set a women's basket- ball program record for number of season tickets sold. What was your reaction when you heard the news and what has the atmo- sphere at John Paul Jones Arena been like playing in front of the fans so far? Brown: "It's amazing, especially consid- ering the local kids that we have like Mo [Kymora Johnson], O [Olivia McGhee] and Sam [Brunelle]. I definitely wasn't super surprised because they're great players, and I know they have a lot of people that they draw being from the area. "But I think it's just amazing. It's been so much fun playing in front of all these fans and the atmosphere has been great. The community here around our program has been very close-knit. Like, people will see me and say, 'Good game.' My parents came to the first two games and fans introduced themselves to them. It's been very welcom- ing and just exciting." Cavalier Corner: Three games into the season, you're second on the team in scor- ing and leading the team in rebounds. Has your experience so far at UVA met your expectations? Brown: "Honestly, I came in not knowing exactly what to expect. I would say I had high expectations for myself, but you don't exactly know what you're getting into. So, it's definitely exceeded my expectations. "But I owe it all to my team and my coaches. It's been such a great environ- ment, and the coaches do a great job. I've gained a lot of confidence being here and just working on my game a lot with the coaches in practice. And also, I've gotten better in practice from going against my teammates and learning from them." — Patrick Boling five questions with Women's Basketball Guard Jillian Brown Brown transferred to Virginia after playing two seasons at Northwestern, where she averaged 8.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per con- test. In the Cavaliers' first six games this season, she averaged 8.8 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds. (Photo courtesy UVA)