IOWA CITY, Iowa – The 10th-seeded Virginia women’s basketball team (20-11) defeated 10th-seeded Arizona State (24-11) by a score of 57-55 on Thursday night (March 19) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to record its first victory in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament since 2018.
The Cavaliers will advance to take on seventh-seeded No. 24 Georgia (22-9) on Saturday (March 21) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Kymora Johnson led the team with 17 points on the night while collecting 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists. Caitlin Weimar provided a crucial lift off the bench scoring 11 points while securing 12 rebounds.
How it Happened
Neither team led by more than four points until the final two minutes of the first quarter. Virginia rattled off a 7-0 run late in the period to take a seven-point advantage. The Cavaliers would enter the second quarter leading by a score of 19-14 after shooting an efficient 7-for-13 from the field in the opening 10 minutes.
Both teams struggled from the field in the second quarter as the Cavaliers shot 26 percent and held the Sun Devils to just 14 percent. Virginia extended its lead to as many as nine points in the opening half and entered the break leading 30-22. Virginia held ASU without a made basket on their last seven attempts of the half.
The Sun Devils shot 50 percent in the third quarter but were limited to just eight attempts in the frame as the Cavaliers forced Arizona State into six turnovers. ASU trimmed the Virginia lead to four points as UVA took a 40-36 advantage into the fourth quarter.
After trailing by eight points with 4:28 to play, ASU mounted a late rally capped by a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to square the game at 51-51, marking the game’s first tie since halfway through the opening quarter.
Kymora Johnson responded on the next possession with a clutch 3-pointer of her own to regain the lead. Holding a 57-55 advantage with four seconds to play, Paris Clark came up with a game sealing steal.
From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
“I’m really proud of our players. That was a gutsy performance. We had to ground that one out. Arizona State, they’re a very physical defensive team. That’s what they’re known for. They make it hard for you to run anything. They really make it hard for 40 minutes. I was just proud of our players, just kind of weathered the storm through some of the adversity we hit in the game but we were so urgent at the end and we just stayed together and really was on one accord.”
With the Win:
- The Cavaliers record their first win in the NCAA Tournament since defeating Cal 68-62 in 2018.
- UVA records its first win in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton
- Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton improves to 4-2 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament
- Virginia is 35-25 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
- Virginia is 1-0 in the First Four
- UVA records 20 wins in a season for the first time since 2016-17
Game Notes:
- Double figure scorers: Kymora Johnson (17), Caitlin Weimar (11) Romi Levy (10)
- With 1,651 career points, Kymora Johnson moved into sole possession of 10th all time at UVA in scoring
- Johnson (17 pts, 10 reb) recorded her eighth career double-double and her second of the season
- Johnson becomes the third player in program history to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game joining Dawn Staley (twice) and DeMya Walker.
- Johnson recorded the fifth game of her career with at least 10 rebounds and her first of the season
- Weimar (11 pts, 12 reb) recorded the 49th double-double of her career and her first in an NCAA Tournament game
- Weimar recorded the 60th game of her career with at least 10 rebounds
- Two UVA players recorded a double-double in the same game for the first time since a win over Wake Forest (1/29/26)
- Paris Clark scored nine points while recording four rebounds and four steals
- The Cavaliers outrebounded ASU 42-39 and improve to 19-6 when outrebounding their opponents
- The Cavaliers combined for six blocks and 11 steals for the game
Up Next:
- The Cavaliers advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament and will play seventh-seeded Georgia on Saturday (March 21). Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
