After one quarter of play Sunday afternoon at Florida State, Virginia women’s basketball held a 16-point lead. Three quarters later, the Cavaliers (12-3, 4-0 ACC) had to play overtime — twice — instead of wrapping up what, at one point, appeared to be a comfortable victory.
“We relaxed, and we started taking uncharacteristic shots, and kind of went rogue a little bit, and they closed the gap,” Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “And then once you do that. It's a game, and we weren't really able to separate ourselves again.”
The Seminoles (5-11, 0-4 ACC) authored a furious comeback, outscoring Virginia in all but the opening period of regulation. At some point, though, a winner had to pull through — and the Cavaliers scraped a 91-87 win in Tallahassee, Fla.
Virginia eked out a victory thanks to a stellar outing from junior guard Kymora Johnson, who led or tied all players in minutes with 50, points with 31, assists with 11, made three-point shots with five and made free throws with six. Johnson was just two rebounds shy of a triple double.
As per usual, Johnson’s co-star was senior guard Paris Clark — who contributed 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The rest of the scoring was spread rather evenly across the rest of the Cavaliers.
Aside from Johnson and Clark, Agugua-Hamilton could have used more timely scoring and perimeter defense from her squad. With 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Virginia held a four-point lead with possession in tow. The Cavaliers could not close out a win in regulation.
Graduate forward Romi Levy missed a three-point shot with 32 seconds left in the game. Next, on the defensive end, the Cavaliers allowed an offensive rebound that junior guard Solé Williams swiftly returned for a layup. But Virginia still led 67-65 with 16 seconds remaining.
After the ball was inbounded, a deep pass to sophomore forward Adeang Ring put her all alone in Florida State territory with no defender even remotely close by — but instead of taking the open layup, Ring dribbled the ball away from the paint and was fouled. Ring missed both free throws and the Seminoles tied the game on their next possession. Clark did get one more chance to win with six seconds left, but her layup attempt was blocked.
So, the Cavaliers went to overtime for the first time since Nov. 30, 2023. In that first overtime period, Johnson struck first from three-point range. Florida State responded by first missing from midrange, corralling the offensive rebound and then hitting a three-point shot of its own. Every time Virginia scored, the Seminoles were quick to retort.
Junior forward Sa’Myah Smith had a chance to win the game from long distance, but she could not connect. So, the Cavaliers went to double overtime for the first time since 2012. This time around, Virginia outscored Florida State 15-11 in the game’s sixth and final period.
“I'm just proud of our [resilience],” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I don't care if it's one point, half a point, how many points on the road, a win is a win. We're in somebody else's gym. They're used to shooting in this gym. It's a different kind of environment to play in, and I just really am happy to see us persevere through adversity.”
An ugly victory is always better than a pretty loss, but Sunday’s win presented many problems for the Cavaliers — in particular, inconsistent offense and a defense prone to surrendering prolonged scoring runs. Virginia only outscored the Seminoles in two of the six periods of play, and Florida State shot 41 percent from deep after halftime.
An extended outing against a 5-11 basketball team is not cause for celebration — especially for a Cavaliers team that has an inexplicable loss to UMBC staining its record. What is worth celebrating for Virginia, however, is the fact that the Cavaliers are in first place in the ACC. Only four teams remain undefeated in conference play, and only three of those teams are 4-0 in the ACC. Of those teams, Virginia has the best record overall.
Up next at 7 p.m. Thursday is a road date at Georgia Tech, which is one of just five ACC teams with an overall losing record. The Cavaliers are currently sporting a six-game win streak and have not lost since Dec. 3, which came at the hands of No. 12 Vanderbilt.
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