Virginia is marching on.
No. 10 Virginia stunned No. 2 Iowa, 83-75, in double overtime, becoming the lone double-digit seed to win in the first round AND advance to the Sweet 16. It marks Virginia’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2000. The Cavaliers are also the first team in women’s tournament history to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16. Only 2.19 percent of Women’s Bracket Challenge Game entries had the Cavaliers in the Sweet 16.
It was an up-and-down day for both squads. Virginia led by as many as seven in the first half to take a 28-23 halftime lead. Then Iowa settled in, outscoring Virginia 25-11 in the third quarter and going up nine entering the final frame. But Virginia wouldn’t go down easily, outscoring Iowa 19-8 in the fourth quarter and tying the game at 57 with just over two minutes to go.
The first overtime had unobserved fouls on both sides, saw the lead change hands, Virginia tie the game on a seven-foot floater from Virginia’s Kymora Johnson and a potential game-winning 3-pointer from Iowa’s Taylor Stremlow go in-and-out in the final seconds. But the result was the same — another overtime.
If we learned one thing this tournament, Virginia is comfortable in close games. Virginia beat Arizona State in the First Four by two and then beat No. 7 Georgia in overtime in the first round.
The Cavaliers jumped ahead in the second overtime and never looked back. The two-headed attack of Paris Clark and Kymora Johnson pulled Virginia ahead. Clark hit an and-one to give Virginia a 70-67 lead and Johnson was fouled on a 3-point attempt, going 2 of 3 to put the Cavaliers up five, a lead Iowa would see grow to nine and only be able to cut down to six down the final stretch.
The Cavaliers had four double-digit scorers. Johnson, who never left the court, led the way with 28 points and four assists. Clark and Romi Levy finished with 20 and 13 points, respectively, while senior Caitlin Weimar finished with 12 coming off the bench.
Iowa was led by Ava Heiden, who went 11 for 22 for 26 points, followed by Chazadi Wright (21 points) and a double-double from senior Hannah Stuelke (15 points, 19 rebounds and six assists).
- Perfect Bracket Tracker: With Virginia’s stunning win, there are now just seven perfect brackets remaining across major online games: five on ESPN and one in both the Women’s Bracket Challenge Game and Yahoo.
