Cavaliers Now

Sparked by Kymora Johnson's Triple-Double, Virginia Looks to Finish Strong

Matthew Newton|
Virginia Athletic

In the moments immediately following Virginia's 80-67 victory at Pittsburgh on Sunday, Kymora Johnson was being interviewed by the ACC Network broadcast team courtside about her historic performance in the game. Johnson had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, giving her just the third triple-double in the history of the Virginia women's basketball program. It was a dream come true for Johnson, and literally a dream come true for UVA head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.

"Oh yeah, for sure, forever, for the longest time," Johnson said when asked about if getting a triple-double was a goal for her. "But I told this to the media after the game - we had practice the other day and Coach Mox came up to me before practice and was like, 'I had a dream last night that you had a triple-double, 27, 10, and 10' and then I actually went and had a triple-double, so it was kinda cool to see that come to life."

Maybe Coach Mox can dabble in fortune telling in the offseason.

The other two triple-doubles in UVA women's basketball history were recorded by one Dawn Staley, who accomplished the feat twice during the 1990-1991 season, the second of three-straight seasons that ended with a trip to the Final Four for Staley and the Cavaliers. Even being mentioned in the same sentence as a legend like Staley means the world to Johnson.

"I'm just really blessed to be in good company. I mean, Dawn Staley, like, everybody knows who that is," Johnson said. "I'm just blessed to have this opportunity, blessed to be in the books, and blessed to have teammates who helped me achieve this feat."

Johnson's triple-double and Sunday's win were a big-time spark for a team in desperate need of one after a pair of humbling home losses to Florida State and Virginia Tech. With no mid-week game after those defeats, there was plenty of time for the Cavaliers to regroup. That week included multiple player-led meetings and encouragement from the coaching staff that all of the team's goals for this season can still be achieved.

"At some point, you get tired of losing, you get tired of doing the same thing over and over again and we're just like, if we're gonna do it, we gotta do it now. And less talking, more action," Johnson said of her team, which won in Pittsburgh despite being down two key players in Paris Clark and RyLee Grays. "We just rallied. That was our word that we put on the board before the game. And I think we just bought into that. We just bought into wanting to [get back] on the right track and finishing the year off strong and trying to make a run, like get ourselves into the tournament."

A core tenet of Coach Mox's coaching philosophy is to treat every game like the most important game of the season. But at this point in the season, Coach Mox also acknowledges the value of putting in perspective the team's bigger goals regarding the postseason.

"The next game is always the most important, for sure, but we also have to understand the bigger picture, too," Coach Mox said. "Our players, they're looking at the standings, they're looking at what's going on. So, it's just explaining... what it's going to take for us to reach our goals this season and what we have to do with the games next. But really it's just about us controlling our own destiny."

It'll be an uphill battle down the stretch for the Cavaliers to even play themselves into consideration for the NCAA Tournament. Virginia is 13-13 overall and 5-9 in ACC play. But a hot streak to end the season plus a good showing in the ACC Tournament could be enough to get the Hoos on the Bubble. It's a tall task, but Sunday's shorthanded road win at Pitt was a big one to get things started. Now, the Cavaliers will look to ride the momentum of Johnson's historic performance and that big victory and carry it into their next matchup at home against Cal on Thursday at 7pm (ACCNX) at John Paul Jones Arena.

"I like where our mentality is right now and I like where our morale is right now," said Coach Mox. "Obviously, we've had a lot of adversity; we went into that Pitt game down two people. So, like Mo said, we had to rally and I think we did and I think we've built some confidence off of that."

More UVA Women's Basketball News & Content

The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women’s Basketball Closes on 31-15 Run to Down Pitt

UVA Women's Basketball Wins at Pitt 80-67 | Key Takeaways

UVA Women's Basketball Falls to Virginia Tech 87-62 | Takeaways

The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women’s Basketball Folds Easily vs FSU

Evaluating Virginia Women's Basketball's NCAA Tournament Outlook

Published | Modified
Matt Newton
MATTHEW NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

Share on XFollow mattynewtss