Virginia Falls at No. 15 Vanderbilt in ACC/SEC Challenge

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  —  The Virginia women’s basketball team (6-3) suffered an 81-68 defeat at No. 15 Vanderbilt (9-0) in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday evening (Dec. 3) at Memorial Gymnasium.

Led by Mikayla Blakes (28 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast), Vanderbilt used efficient third-quarter shooting (10-for-14) to pull away outscoring the Cavaliers by a margin of 29-11 in the period. Free-throws proved to be the difference in the game as the Commodores (19-for-21) held a 13-point advantage over the Virginia (6-for-10) at the charity stripe.

Kymora Johnson led the Cavaliers with 22 points while dishing out seven assists and pulling down five rebounds. Paris Clark (12 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast) and Adeang Ring (10 pts, 4 reb) each scored in double figures while Johnson and Jillian Brown combined for six of Virginia’s 10 steals.

How It Happened
The Cavaliers struggled early from the floor converting on just one of their first eight attempts to fall behind by a score of 9-3. However, Johnson and Clark keyed a 10-0 Cavalier run to take a four-point lead [13-9]. UVA forced Vandy into 10 consecutive missed field goals over the course of their scoring run and took a 19-18 lead into the quarter break.

Neither team led by more than four points in the second quarter as the first half featured six lead changes and five ties. Virginia went into the break trailing by a score of 34-30 while shooting 36 percent from the floor (11-for-31) and holding Vanderbilt to 38 percent (11-for-29). Kymora Johnson led the Cavaliers with nine first-half points while Adeang Ring poured in seven on a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor.

Vanderbilt shot 71 percent (10-for-14) in the third quarter and built its lead to as many as 28 points with just under eight minutes to play in the fourth. The Cavaliers shot 73 percent (11-for-15) in the fourth and outscored Vanderbilt 27-12 down the stretch cutting the lead to as few as 12 points with under two minutes to play. Johnson scored 15 of her 22 points in the final period.

Game Notes

• UVA falls to 4-3 all time against Vanderbilt
• Virginia drops to 1-2 in the ACC/SEC Challenge
• Caitlin Weimer (6 pts) became the only active player in NCAA Division I with at least 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds (1,505 pts, 1,032 reb)
• Double-figure scorers: Johnson (22), Clark (12), Ring (10)
• Vanderbilt went 90 percent (19-21) from the free throw line while Virginia went 60 percent (6-10)
• Kymora Johnson notched her sixth 20-point game of the season
• Ring’s 10 points matched a season-high
• The Cavaliers were narrowly outrebounded 34-31
• Virginia shot 47 percent (27-58) and held Vanderbilt to 46 percent (27-59)
• Each team connected on eight attempts from beyond the arc

Up Next:
Virginia travels to Boston College for its ACC opener on Sunday (Dec. 7). Tipoff from Chestnut Hill is set for Noon on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).