IOWA CITY, Iowa – Virginia trailed by as many as nine points in the final quarter but 20-point performances from Kymora Johnson and Paris Clark helped lift UVA to a double-overtime victory to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2000. The 10th-seeded Cavaliers (22-11) upset second-seeded No. 7 Iowa (27-7) by a score of 83-75 on Monday afternoon (March 23) in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,332 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Johnson played all 50 minutes and recorded 28 points for the second consecutive game to lead the team. Paris Clark scored 20 points of her own while contributing seven rebounds and four assists to the winning effort. Romi Levy (13 pts, 6-12 FG) and Caitlin Weimar (12 pts, 8 reb) rounded out four players in double figures.
The Cavaliers went 33 percent 9-for-27 from beyond the arc and limited Iowa to just 17 percent (5-for-29). The Cavalier bench recorded 15 points to Iowa’s four.
How it Happened
Neither team led by more than three points in the opening period as the teams traded score-for-score and went into the second tied at 13-13.
Caitlin Weimar was steady off the bench in the opening half starting the game a perfect 4-for-4 with eight points. The Cavaliers began to create separation in the second quarter using a 15-4 scoring run to take seven-point advantage before entering the halftime break leading 28-23.
The Hawkeyes went 10-for-15 in the third period outscoring the Cavaliers 25-11 to take a 48-39 lead. Ava Heiden went 5-for-8 in the period with 12 points to lead all players in the frame.
Trailing by nine with just over seven minutes to play, Paris Clark scored eight straight points including back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to 52-51. Kymora Johnson drilled her fourth three pointer of the day to square the game at 57-57 with 2:11 to go.
Johnson dominated the overtime period scoring 14 points on 3-for-6 shooting while going 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. Clark pitched in seven points as UVA outscored Iowa 18-10 in the additional periods.
From Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
Obviously super proud of this group. Super proud of our program. Every player, every staff member, just all the hard work that went into getting us to this point.
But we were just so resilient in this game. It doesn't matter what Iowa -- Iowa is a really good team. They're a 2 seed for a reason. No matter what they threw at us, we just did not get rattled.
We just believed that we were going to win this game before it even started. Every time they punched, we punched back, stayed poised. Had so many people hit big shots, Paris, Mo. We had to battle their bigs. I'm just really proud of our fight today.
With the Win:
- The Cavaliers advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2000
- Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has reached the Sweet Sixteen for the second time as a head coach.
- Virginia defeated a top-two seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996 (Old Dominion), and marks its fourth win over a top-two seed in program history
- The Cavaliers recorded their first win over a top-four seed when seeded below a three themselves
- UVA becomes the first team to advance to the Sweet Sixteen after playing in the First Four
- The Cavaliers are the first double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen since 2022.
- Virginia improves to 13-6 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
- Virginia is 4-1 as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament
- UVA records its first-ever win over Iowa and improves to 1-0 in the all-time series
- Virginia improves to 20-1 when leading at the half this season
Game Notes:
- The Cavaliers have played back-to-back overtime games twice in 2025-26
- Virginia records its third overtime win in the NCAA Tournament
- UVA is 4-1 in overtime games in 2025-26
- The game marked the ninth multi-overtime game in the history of the NCAA Tournament
- Double-figure scorers: Johnson (28), Clark (20), Levy (13), Weimar (12)
- Caitlin Weimar notched her 10th game of the season scoring in double figures
- Johnson becomes the fourth Cavalier to score 25+ points in multiple NCAA Tournament games (Dawn Staley, Heather Burge, Tora Suber, Monica Wright)
- Johnson notched her 30th game of the season with at least 10 points
- Johnson recorded her 16th game with 30+ points on the season, and her second in the NCAA Tournament
- Johnson scored 28 points in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games
- Paris Clark scored in double figures for the 13th time this season
- Sa’Myah Smith recorded 10 rebounds, her 10th game of the season in double figures
- The Cavaliers were outrebounded 42-50 and are 13-3 on the season when being outrebounded
Up Next:
- The Cavaliers advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they will take on third-seeded No. 7 TCU on Saturday (March 28) at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. Tipoff time and television designation are still to be announced.