Virginia Upsets Georgia in Second Round of NCAA Women’s Tournament, 82-73
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Virginia Cavaliers continued their improbable NCAA Tournament run, defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 82-73 in the first round on Saturday. Virginia (21-11), a No. 10 seed, became the first lower seed to win in this year’s March Madness tournament. The Cavaliers will face either No. 2 seed Iowa or No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the second round on Monday.
“There was a lot of adversity in that game and we had to fight to push it to overtime and then also to do what we did in overtime,” Virginia coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “Once we got to overtime, we knew it was our game. We came out with a lot of urgency.”
Key Performances Lead Virginia to Victory
Kymora Johnson led the Cavaliers with 28 points, while Sa’Myah Smith added a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, securing a double-double. Romi Levy contributed 14 points for Virginia.
Smith, who struggled in the First Four game against Arizona State, scoring just two points, bounced back emphatically. Agugua-Hamilton spoke with Smith before the game about putting that performance behind her. “Sa’Myah’s a winner,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “She was like, ‘I got you.’ Once she said that, I knew she would be fine.” Smith stated, “If it was my best game, then I saved it for the right time. No better time to do it than now.”
Close Game Goes to Overtime
The game was tightly contested, with Georgia having two opportunities to win in the final seconds of regulation. Trinity Turner’s shot with four seconds remaining missed, and Savannah Henderson grabbed the offensive rebound before a tie-up with Smith. The possession arrow favored Georgia with seven-tenths of a second left, but Mia Woolfolk’s 10-foot jumper rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.
Virginia outscored Georgia 11-2 in overtime to seal the victory.
Georgia Falls Short Despite Strong Performances
Mia Woolfolk led Georgia with 27 points, while Rylie Theuerkauf added 22 points, with all but two coming in the first half. Henderson contributed 11 points. However, Woolfolk was unable to play in overtime after taking multiple hard falls during the game, drawing nine fouls.
Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson noted Woolfolk’s toughness, saying, “I think it’s just the whole year, just getting beat up and beat up and slammed and beat up and beat up. It doesn’t end for her. She really went to work. She did a great job.” Abrahamson-Henderson also lamented Woolfolk’s absence in overtime, stating, “I mean, she could’ve had 34 points if she made some of those free throws. It really hurt us in the overtime not having her out there.”
Cavaliers Adjust Defensively
Virginia switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half to counter Georgia’s offensive strategy. “They were doing a good job of getting to places in our zone where it was hard to guard,” Agugua-Hamilton explained. The defensive adjustment limited Georgia to just one 3-pointer in the second half and overtime.
Up Next
The Virginia Cavaliers will play their third game in five days on Monday, facing either Iowa or Fairleigh Dickinson. They initially defeated Arizona State 57-55 in the First Four game on Thursday.