Johnson’s Historic Triple-Double Lifts Virginia Over Pitt

PITTSBURGH — Kymora Johnson put herself in elite company by recording just the third triple-double in Virginia women’s basketball history, joining Dawn Staley as the only Cavaliers to accomplish the feat. Johnson’s historic performance led Virginia (13-13, 5-9 ACC) to an 80-67 win over Pitt (11-16, 3-11) on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 16) at Petersen Events Center.

Johnson (20 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast) led the way, while Latasha Lattimore (30 pts, 11 reb, 4 blk) notched a career-high point total and her ninth double-double of the season. Casey Valenti-Paea (12 pts, 3-5 FG, 4-4 FT) provided a crucial lift off the bench, marking her best scoring output as a Cavalier.

Johnson’s triple-double marked the first by a Virginia player since Staley recorded the second of her career in a win over NC State (23 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast; 2/23/91). Staley recorded the program’s first that same season against NC State (24 pts, 10 reb, 11 ast; 1-12-91).

How It Happened
The Cavaliers outscored the Panthers 20-18 in a back-and-forth opening period. Virginia was led on the stat sheet by Lattimor, who scored eight points in the period while pulling down five rebounds and blocking a pair of shots.

In the second, Virginia increased its lead to as many as eight points [40-32] and went into the half protecting a six-point [42-36] lead. Valenti-Paea scored seven of her 12 points in the period, surpassing her previous season high with 10 points at the half. Lattimore led the team with 11 points and six rebounds while Johnson went into the break with seven assists, just a pair shy of her season high.

The Cavaliers trailed by as many as three points [52-49] in the third, but outscored Pitt 19-16 in the frame to take a 61-52 lead into the game’s final quarter. Lattimore scored 11 of her 30 points in the third quarter alone going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.

In the fourth, Virginia outscored Pitt 19-15 as Johnson put the finishing touches on her historic afternoon, pulling down three rebounds in the period to seal the triple-double. Johnson and Lattimore combined for 17 of Virginia’s 19 points in the final quarter.

With the Win…

• Virginia improves to 8-7 in the all-time series with Pitt
• UVA snaps a two-game losing streak to the Panthers
• The Cavaliers improve to 4-4 on the road this season and 4-3 in ACC road games

Game Notes

• Double figure scorers: Lattimore (30), Johnson (20) Valenti-Paea (12)
• Kymora Johnson recorded just the third triple-double in Virginia women’s basketball history and joins Dawn Staley as the only Cavaliers to accomplish the feat
• The last triple double by a Virginia player was Dawn Staley (23 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast; vs NC State, 2/23/91)
• Johnson becomes just the fourth Cavalier between both the men’s and women’s programs to record a triple-double. That list is made up of Dawn Staley, Ralph Sampson and Bill Miller.
• Johnson’s 11 assists mark a career high
• Johnson scored 20 points in a game for the 10^th time this season
• Lattimore’s 30 points mark a career high
• Lattimore has scored 20+ points six times this season
• Lattimore also recorded her 9^th double-double of the season (30 pts, 11 reb)
• Two Virginia players recorded double-doubles in the same game for the second time in 2024-25 (vs Bethune Cookman, 11/24/24)
• Valenti-Paea’s 12 points mark her highest total as a Cavalier
• With four blocks on the day, Lattimore increases her season total to 50, the ninth-highest single-season total in program history
• Virginia outrebounded Pitt 57-38 and improves to 12-4 when outrebounding its opponent
• The Cavaliers scored 28 points from the free-throw line, their highest total of the season (20 vs UMES, 12/17/24)
• UVA shot 84.8 percent (28-33) from the line 

Up Next:
The Cavaliers return to action on Thursday (Feb. 20) when they host California. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).