After Virginia built some momentum in the form of a three-game win streak, it faced off against its first Power Four opponent of the 2025-26 season — Nebraska. The game was a litmus test for Coach Amaka Agugua Hamilton’s Cavaliers (5-2, 0-0 ACC), and the result was a 91-82 defeat at the hands of the Cornhuskers (7-0, 0-0 Big Ten).
Virginia, with its stingy defense, was able to keep pace — but the Cavalier offense lagged behind for most of the Tuesday evening contest at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.
The Cavaliers entered the week with the nation’s second-best scoring defense, allowing just 45 points per game. Nebraska scored more than double that number Tuesday night. In particular, sophomore guard Britt Prince stole the show for the Cornhuskers, gashing Virginia with 30 points in 37 minutes of action. Fueled by Prince, Nebraska took the lead four minutes into the game and never relinquished it.
The Cavaliers’ response came far too late, as Virginia entered the fourth quarter trailing by 19 points.
Large deficit aside, the Cavaliers rattled off a furious comeback — scoring 32 points in the fourth quarter and cutting the deficit to just four points with just under three minutes left to play. In that final frame, Virginia matched a program record by netting 80 percent of its shots in a single quarter.
The Cavaliers could not capitalize on the opportunity to steal the game, though. Virginia made just one field goal in the final two minutes and 48 seconds of play. With the opportunity to seize their first win over a Power Four opponent, the Cavaliers could not find the clutch points with the clock winding down.
In that same time period, star junior guard Kymora Johnson coughed up two turnovers and missed a free throw — each of which took ever-valuable points off of the scoreboard.
For the entirety of the first half, an all too familiar problem reemerged — Virginia’s offense got stuck in the mud. Johnson was held without a field goal in the first half, managing just two points on a pair of free throws.
Of the nine Cavaliers who saw game action, five of them were held to two points or fewer in the game’s first 20 minutes. The same was also true for the Cornhuskers, but Prince blew past Virginia’s defense to score at ease. In a battle of stars, Prince was a frequent presence for Nebraska while Johnson was held in check and scored a majority of her 24 points in the final quarter.
While the Cornhuskers sprinted to a lead, Agugua-Hamilton tried several remedies, including giving 10-plus minutes of playing time to eight different players, but only senior forward Tabitha Amanze was able to record a positive plus-minus score — meaning that no other Cavalier contributed towards a positive scoring differential when on the court.
Next, Virginia returns home for a brief mid-major interlude Sunday against UMES. After that, though, the Cavaliers will begin facing more Power Four competition — and scoring droughts will be difficult to overcome. Virginia travels to Nashville, Tenn. for a bout with Vanderbilt Dec. 3, then a road game at Boston College Dec. 7.
The one positive of Tuesday’s loss? Agugua-Hamilton and company can learn from a strange evening of basketball — and, in their perfect scenario, pair the early fourth quarter offense with their previously stout defense.
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