Cavaliers Settling In on West CoastCavaliers Settling In on West Coast

Cavaliers Settling In on West Coast

In the NCAA women's basketbal tournament's round of 16, No. 10 seed Virginia (22-11) meets No. 3 seed TCU (31-5) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Sacramento, Calif.

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a five-hour flight to this capital city, the University of Virginia women’s basketball team proceeded directly to the Sacramento State campus Wednesday afternoon.

In a gym known as The Nest, UVA players stretched their legs and practiced their shooting, and at the end of the hour-long recovery session Kymora Johnson added an exclamation point by banking in a shot from midcourt.

It’s been that kind of week for the junior guard, whose all-around brilliance has helped UVA advance to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2000. Johnson appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Tuesday—the day after 10th-seeded Virginia’s second-round upset of No. 2 seed Iowa—and the national media can’t get enough of the story of the former Cavalier ball girl who’s now starring at her hometown school.

“It’s just been so much fun,” Johnson said. “A lot of joy. Obviously I got to go on SportsCenter, which is really cool, but honestly I've just been soaking it all in.”

Virginia’s next game is Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. At 7:30 p.m. ET, in a third-round game to air on ESPN, UVA (22-11) meets No. 3 seed TCU (31-5), with the winner advancing to play No. 1 seed South Carolina or No. 4 seed Oklahoma in the Elite Eight.

With their win over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Wahoos became the first team in NCAA tournament history to advance from the First Four to the Sweet Sixteen. Fans and UVA staffers celebrated that feat Wednesday outside John Paul Jones Arena, cheering on the Hoos as they boarded the bus that would take the team to Charlottesville Albemarle Airport.

“I thought that was amazing,” head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said of the send-off at JPJ. “I'm just so thankful for our fans, supporters. They're really loyal. Just to feel that kind of love, and to see Virginia women's basketball back in that light, is awesome.”

Before emerging from the arena with her teammates, Johnson said, she sat inside JPJ and took in the scene outside.

“I felt so honored and blessed and in disbelief,” said Johnson, who leads the Cavaliers in points, assists, steals and minutes played.

Kymora Johnson at John Paul Jones Arena send-offKymora Johnson at John Paul Jones Arena send-off

For Agugua-Hamilton, who’s in her fourth season at Virginia, this is her the second trip to the Sweet Sixteen as a head coach. The first was in 2020-21, the second of her three seasons at Missouri State.

The Lady Bears’ postseason run ended with a third-round loss to eventual NCAA champion Stanford that year, but “it was just an amazing experience to be there,” Agugua-Hamilton said, “and for our players just to be around elite company and then everything that comes with being in the Sweet Sixteen, from the media exposure, to the gifts, to all that stuff.”

The key at this stage of the tournament, Agugua-Hamilton said, is “staying grounded and not getting too caught up in the hype, No. 1. Taking in everything and taking it in stride, but not being overwhelmed by anything.”

Johnson acknowledged that it’s easy to spend too much time checking out social-media posts about the Cavaliers’ run to the Sweet Sixteen.

“It’s a lot,” she said, “and so I’m just trying to figure out how to balance that, because it’s obviously new to me and new to my team. But it’s about staying level-headed and excited for the next game as as prepared as we can be.”

The Cavaliers opened the tournament with a First Four win over Arizona State last Thursday night in Iowa City, Iowa. Two days later, on the same court, UVA knocked off No. 7 seed Georgia in overtime. Playing for the third time in five days, Virginia then eliminated Iowa 83-75 in double overtime.

Virginia will work out at The Nest again Thursday afternoon before moving to Golden 1 Center on Friday for media sessions and an open practice. The postseason can be a whirlwind for players, and Agugua-Hamilton wants her team to strike the proper balance in Sacramento.

“I want our kids to have fun,” she said. “I want them to be locked in and execute the game plans and fight. We're in a good space, where I think we're going to do that, but I also don't want them to get too ahead of themselves, like we've arrived. I want them to continue to stay humble and hungry.”

This is the Cavaliers’ second trip to the West Coast in two months. In February, the flew to the Bay Area for ACC games against Cal and Stanford. UVA lost to Cal in Berkeley before defeating Stanford in Palo Alto three days later.

The cross-country travel and time difference pose challenges, Agugua-Hamilton said Wednesday, “but the good thing is we're out here a couple days early. We'll be acclimated by Saturday, and we'll be hopefully here Monday to play another game.”

UVA closed the regular season on a disappointing note, losing 83-82 at John Paul Jones Arena to Virginia Tech, which benefited from a controversial call in the final seconds, but Agugua-Hamilton didn’t lose hope.

A Senior Day ceremony followed that game, after which Agugua-Hamilton took the microphone and thanked Cavalier fans for their season-long support. Then she added: “I can promise you, we are not done. We are not done this season. We’re going into the ACC tournament and we’re going to compete and we’re going to fight. And then after that we’re going to the NCAA tournament.”

Her confidence proved to be well-founded.

“I knew we were better than how we’d played,” Agugua-Hamilton recalled Wednesday. “I’m just grateful. I’m just happy to see the smiles on our players’ faces and for it to actually click. I knew it was going to click. That’s why I said what I did on Senior Night.”

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Amaka Agugua-Hamilton with son EzeAmaka Agugua-Hamilton with son Eze