UVA Women's Basketball Suffocates Pitt 64-50 in ACC Tournament First Round

Virginia women's basketball (17-14) is on to the second round of the 2025 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament after posting a 64-50 victory over No. 15 seed Pittsburgh (13-19) in the first round on Wednesday afternoon at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The No. 10 seed Cavaliers advance to take on No. 7 seed California in the second round on Thursday at 5pm ET, but before we get to that matchup, let's break down some key takeaways from Virginia's win over Pitt.

Virginia puts on a defensive masterclass

In the first meeting between these two teams a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh, the Cavaliers needed a triple-double from Kymora Johnson and a 30-point performance from Latasha Lattimore in order to take down the Panthers in an 80-67 shootout. In that game, Pitt got 27 points from Mikayla Johnson and a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double from Khadija Faye, who was unstoppable in the paint. Coach Mox and the Hoos were determined to stop Faye this time around, doubling her immediately on almost every possession. That strategy worked for most of the game, as Faye, who is Pitt's leading scorer at 19.2 points per game, went 0/7 from the floor and scored zero points in the first half. Faye ended up with 15 points, but got most of that from the free throw line as she shot just 3/19 from the floor. Pitt got an unlucky break as Mikayla Johnson went down with an injury early on, but the Cavaliers deserve a lot of credit for their smothering defensive performance. Virginia blocked 11 shots, forced 15 Pitt turnovers, and held the Panthers to just 50 points (their third-lowest scoring output of the season) on just 23.3% shooting from the floor.

UVA goes on a big first-half run, grinds Pitt down in the second half

Virginia went on a 19-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter to take a 24-12 lead, but the Cavaliers then got out of their rhythm offensively, making just one of their next 14 shots and missing their last 10 shots to end the first half. UVA went scoreless over the last four minutes and 31 seconds of the second quarter and led Pitt by just four points at halftime. The shots weren't really falling for Virginia, who went 7/26 from beyond the arc as Pitt dared the Hoos to shoot from deep. The Cavaliers also shot a dismal 5/13 from the charity stripe. But despite that, Virginia continued to lean on its defense and did what it had to do to win the game, beating Pitt in the rebounding battle 45-39 and outscoring the Panthers in the paint 28-14, an impressive feat considering Khadija Faye plays for the other team. It wasn't a big run that gave Virginia the win, but rather just consistent solid basketball down the stretch of the third and fourth quarters.

Breona Hurd gives the Hoos a big lift

This game lacked the outstanding individual performances of the first matchup between these two teams, but four Cavaliers scored in double figures for Virginia. Kymora Johnson was surgical as always in her operation of the UVA offense, finishing with 17 points, seven assists, and three rebounds. Paris Clark had 11 points and eight rebounds and led UVA with a +/- of +25. Latasha Lattimore quietly had a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double and stuffed the stat sheet on the defensive end, finishing with six blocks and five steals. But the game ball goes to Breona Hurd, who in her debut at the ACC Tournament, played one of her best games of the season, registering 15 points on 6/9 shooting, seven rebounds, and a block in 31 minutes on the floor. Virginia will need a lot more of that from the freshman if the Cavaliers are going to knock off Cal on Thursday.

UVA ends the ACC Tournament drought

Maybe there was a Wake Forest curse after all. In each of the last three ACC Tournaments, Virginia was matched up with Wake Forest in the first round and each time, the Demon Deacons sent the Cavaliers home one-and-done. Wake didn't qualify for this year's tournament and UVA was finally able to end what was a five-game losing streak in ACC Tournament games, winning a game at the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2019. The next step? Winning multiple games in a single ACC Tournament for the first time since 1994.

What's Next?

With the win, Virginia advances to the ACC Tournament second round, where the Cavaliers will take on No. 7 seed California on Thursday. Cal took the first meeting between these two teams, beating the Cavaliers 76-70 in Charlottesville back on February 20th. Virginia got 24 points and five assists from Kymora Johnson in that game, but Latasha Lattimore was held to six points and Cal had four players in double figures and knocked down 13 three-pointers. Stamina could be an issue for UVA in this one, as the Cavaliers will have to play a game less than 24 hours after their first round matchup ended, while the Golden Bears will obviously be quite fresh. Keep an eye on the status of Olivia McGhee, who exited the game with an injury in the middle of the third quarter and did not return.

Virginia is set to take on California in the second round of the 2025 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday at 5pm ET at First Horizon Coliseum and the game will be televised on the ACC Network.

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