UVA women's basketball knocks off Pittsburgh in first round of ACC Tournament
For the first time since 2019, the Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team earned a win in the ACC Tournament, knocking off the 15th-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers, 64-50, in the first round on Wednesday afternoon.
After Boston College got the tournament started inside First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a 76-73 win over Syracuse, the 10th-seeded Cavaliers took the floor and quickly dug themselves an early 12-5 hole midway through the first quarter. But an extended 19-0 run propelled Virginia in front, and the ’Hoos never looked back, leading for the final 30 minutes of the contest.
Kymora Johnson, who was selected to the All-ACC First Team earlier this week (becoming the first Cavalier to earn first-team honors since 2001), led the way once again for Virginia, finishing with 17 points (7-17 FG), seven assists, and three rebounds.
It’s the ninth-straight game that Johnson has scored in double-digits for the ’Hoos, as she continues to catalyze Virginia’s recent stretch of improved play. With Wednesday’s win, Virginia has now won five of its last six games dating back to mid-February.
In the frontcourt, Latasha Lattimore notched her 11th double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Toronto native also blocked six shots and came away with five steals — an integral part of a Virginia defensive effort that held Pittsburgh’s leading scorer, Khadija Faye, to a 3-of-19 afternoon from the floor.
Virginia has been looking for consistent secondary scoring threats behind Johnson and Lattimore all season, and Paris Clark once again stepped into that role against the Panthers. The junior entered Wednesday afternoon averaging 15.3 points per game since Feb. 6th, and Clark continued to look comfortable with 11 points (4-8 FG, 3-4 3FG) while pulling down eight rebounds on Wednesday.
Freshman Breona Hurd also delivered a gem in her first ACC Tournament action, pouring in a highly-efficient 15 points (6-9 FG) and grabbing seven boards.
Aside from the balanced offensive attack that saw four ’Hoos score in double figures, it was Virginia’s defense that truly shined in its ACC Tournament opener. UVA posted its second-most-efficient defensive effort of the entire season (72.0 adjusted defensive efficiency rating via BartTorvik) as it held Pittsburgh under 55 points for just the seventh time this season.
With the win, Virginia advances to face the 7th-seeded California Golden Bears tomorrow at 5 p.m. Virginia lost to the Golden Bears, 76-70, in their mid-February matchup in Charlottesville, but the ’Hoos led early in the contest and were within striking distance down the stretch.
Thursday’s game will be broadcast on ACC Network as the ’Hoos look to earn a trip to the quarterfinals and a date with ACC Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo and the 2nd-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
