STANFORD, Calif. — Virginia trailed by eight points early, but a second-quarter surge and late heroics from Kymora Johnson powered UVA to victory on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 15). The Cavaliers (18-8, 10-5 ACC) defeated Stanford (16-11, 5-9 ACC) by a score of 75-69 at Maples Pavilion.
Johnson’s 25 points led all scorers as she went on to record five rebounds and four assists. Caitlin Weimar (12 pts, 8 reb) and Gabby White (11 pts, 9 reb) each provided a crucial lift for the Cavaliers off the bench as the Cavaliers recorded a total of 36 bench points compared to Stanford’s six.
Virginia recorded 28 points at the free-throw (28-32) line while limiting Stanford to 20 attempts (15-20) and outrebounding the Cardinal 46-36. UVA notched its 10th ACC win of the season to match its highest total since 2017-18, the last time Virginia was selected to the NCAA tournament.
How It Happened
The Cavaliers fell into an early 10-2 hole as the Cardinal connected on four of their first six attempts from the field. However, the Cavaliers closed the opening period on a 9-3 run and went into the second trailing 13-11. White provided a spark off the bench playing seven first-quarter minutes in which she led the team with five points and two rebounds.
Virginia stormed to a 23-17 lead while outscoring Stanford 12-4 in the first 5:30 of the second quarter. The Cavaliers outscored the Cardinal 25-15 for the period as Johnson beat the halftime buzzer to send UVA into the locker room with a 36-28 advantage. White led all players at the half with 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field as the Cavalier bench outscored the Cardinal bench 19-4 in the opening half.
The Cardinal pulled within just one point [40-39] early in the third quarter and eventually tied the game at 45-45 with 4:46 remaining in the period. However, Virginia closed the third quarter on an 11-4 run which consisted of 11 consecutive makes for at the free-throw line. The Cavaliers went into the fourth leading 59-51.
In the fourth, Stanford mounted a 13-1 scoring run to take a 64-62 lead with 4:22 remaining in the game. Following a pair of misses at the free-throw line for Stanford, Johnson sunk a pair at the other end to level the score at 64-64. One possession later, Johnson came up with an offensive rebound before connecting from beyond the arc to take a 67-64 lead with 1:52 remaining. She went on to convert on eight consecutive free-throw attempts to seal the victory for Virginia.
With the Win:
- UVA records its 10th win in ACC play; its most since its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18
- The Cavaliers recorded their largest comeback win of the season (8 pts)
- The Cavaliers improve to 17-1 when leading at halftime
- Virginia improves to 3-3 in the all-time series with Stanford
- The Cavaliers are 2-0 against the Cardinal on the road
- Virginia improves to 13-5 when playing in the state of California
Game Notes
- Double figure scorers: Johnson (25), Weimar (12), White (11)
- Johnson recorded her 12th 20-pt game of the season and 32nd of her career.
- White scored in double figures for the eighth time of her career, and seventh time off the bench
- Caitlin Weimar scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and 81st in her career
- Breona Hurd (8 pts, 2-3 3FG) logged her second-highest minutes total of the season (27)
- The Cavaliers scored 36 points off the bench
- UVA has scored 36+ bench point five times this season
- Virginia outrebounded Stanford 46-36 and improves to 18-4 when outrebounding its opponents
- The Cavaliers made 11 consecutive free throws in the third quarter (3:02-0:58)
- Virginia went 28-32 from the free throw line compared to Stanford’s 15-20
- UVA has attempted at least 30 free throws three times this season
- Kymora Johnson went a career-best 12-12 from the free-throw line
- Adeang Ring went a career-best 5-5 from the free-throw line
Up Next:
- The Cavaliers travel to take on Louisville Sunday (Feb. 22). Tipoff from KFC Yum! Center is set for 2 p.m. on the CW
- Fans can also tune in live on WINA (98.9FM/1070AM)