The Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team split a pair of games in the Bay Area this past week, falling at California on Thursday night, 64-58, before responding with a 75-69 win at Stanford on Sunday afternoon.
In game one of their West Coast swing, the ’Hoos fell behind by 16 points heading into halftime against the Golden Bears after shooting just 35% in the first half. Virginia turned up its own defensive intensity after the break, holding Cal to just 19 second-half points. But the Cavaliers couldn’t muster enough offense to get over the hump despite cutting the deficit to as few as two points late in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, four Cal free throws iced the game, as Virginia was held scoreless on its final four possessions.
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The loss in Berkeley made UVA’s trip to Stanford Sunday a near must-win for its NCAA Tournament hopes. Despite being the better team for most of the afternoon, the ’Hoos flirted with disaster, allowing the Cardinal to erase a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and briefly take a 64-62 lead with 4:22 remaining.
Stanford, however, would go with a made field goal the rest of the way, as Kymora Johnson poured in Virginia’s final 13 points to lead a 13-5 game-clinching Cavalier run down the stretch.
As Virginia heads back east, here are four takeaways from its shaky yet successful week in The Golden State:
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The trip was an overall positive for Virginia’s NCAA Tournament chances
A 2-0 trip would have been ideal, obviously, but avoiding a winless trip was the most important thing for the ’Hoos out west. With two Quad 1 opportunities against middling ACC foes on the table, Virginia absolutely had to go home with at least one win, and Coach Mox’s squad got the job done on Sunday afternoon.
By beating Stanford, the ’Hoos improved to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in the ACC. But most importantly, they erased the zero in their Quad 1 win column. Though Virginia’s 1-5 Q1 record is still far from ideal, the goose egg was the biggest thing holding UVA back among its fellow residents on the bubble.
Heading into Sunday’s contest, ESPN had the ’Hoos projected in the ‘First Four Out’ while Stanford was among the ‘Last Four In.’ The result in Palo Alto should be enough to flip those projections and get Virginia narrowly back on the right side of the bubble.
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Notre Dame, which convincingly beat NC State on Sunday, could help the ’Hoos out as well. With a win over Wake Forest this upcoming Thursday, the Fighting Irish (currently 26th in the NET) could rise inside the top 25 and make Virginia’s February 8th victory over them a second Q1 win.
Kymora Johnson bailed out the ’Hoos in Maples Pavilion
The lack of offense around Johnson (25 points, five rebounds, four assists at Stanford) has become concerning, but Virginia’s superstar point guard bailed out the ’Hoos down the stretch inside Maples Pavilion Sunday.
Johnson, despite a somewhat cold shooting day (5-of-16 from the field), poured in UVA’s final 13 points against Stanford (including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line), willing the ’Hoos over the top.
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With the score tied and just under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Johnson delivered the game’s biggest play, stripping away a steal after a Stanford defensive rebound and casually draining a go-ahead 3-pointer from the wing.
With some huge games coming down the pike, however, the ’Hoos need another scorer to step up. Virginia hasn’t had anyone, outside of Johnson, score 16 or more points in any of its past five games. So, on a rare night like Thursday at Cal when Johnson couldn’t find her rhythm and finished with just 10 points, UVA’s offense struggles to find any answers.
Virginia’s bench bounced back
Coach Mox had really narrowed down the rotation over Virginia’s past few games, and that trend continued Thursday at Cal when just seven Cavaliers saw significant minutes. But after the ’Hoos scored just 0.892 points per possession in a frigid offensive performance against the Golden Bears, Coach Mox swung the pendulum back in the other direction Sunday at Stanford.
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Caitlin Weimer (12 points), Gabby White (11 points), Breona Hurd (8 points), and Adeang Ring (5 points) each saw at least 18 minutes of action off the bench in game two of the road trip as the four combined for 36 points, outscoring Stanford’s reserves by 30.
It was an especially welcome sight to see Hurd back in the mix. The sophomore forward had scored just six points since January 1st but came through with two crucial 3-pointers in her first real taste of game action in weeks.
Time for a signature win
The ’Hoos very well could have two Quad 1 wins by the next time they take the court, and while that would be a great step for Virginia’s at-large chances, a signature win over one of the conference’s elite teams would all but seal an invitation for UVA to the Big Dance.
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And as luck would have it, Virginia has a perfect opportunity up next on the docket as it heads to No. 8 Louisville next Sunday. The Cardinals earned a pair of no-doubt victories over Wake Forest and Florida State this past week, improving to 14-1 in conference play (just 0.5 games behind 14-0 Duke atop the ACC standings).
A win at Louisville will be a Herculean task for the ’Hoos. But with a full week to prepare, Virginia should have a puncher’s chance inside the KFC Yum! Center next weekend. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 PM EST with coverage on The CW, as Virginia — winners of three of its last four — will be seeking its biggest win of the season.
