WBB: UVA rallies to upset No. 8 UNC, 78-75, in regular-season finale

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

For the second-consecutive year, Virginia closed out the regular season with a top-10 win. The Cavaliers overcame an 18-point deficit to upset No. 8 North Carolina, 78-75, on Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena. The win marked Virginia’s first in Chapel Hill since the 2001 season.

Kymora Johnson came just one rebound shy of a triple-double as the sophomore accounted for 15 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and five steals. Latasha Lattimore led the team in scoring with 23 points while pulling down six rebounds. Paris Clark (17 pts) and Edessa Noyan (16 pts) rounded out a total of four Cavaliers in double-figures.

Virginia’s second-half comeback saw the team shoot 57 percent (16 for 28) from the floor while drilling 8 of 13 3-pointers. Carolina shot 45 percent (13 for 29) from the field and 18 percent (2 of 11) from 3-point range in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Cavaliers (16-14, 8-10 ACC) scored the first four points of the game to take their largest lead of the day, but were ultimately outscored 27-17 in the first. Lattimore scored seven points in the period to lead the team, but the Cavaliers were outrebounded, 11-6, contributing to seven Tar Heel points off second-chance opportunities.

Virginia trailed by as many as 18 points in the second period, but closed the half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 11 points [41-30]. Lattimore and Noyan combined for 10 points in the quarter, while Lattimore led the team with 12 points and four rebounds at the half. Johnson assisted on seven of Virginia’s 12 field goals in the first half.

The Cavaliers used efficient 3-point shooting to pull themselves within just a point [52-51] in the third. Virginia drilled 6 of 8 attempts from beyond the arc, as Noyan and Clark each accounted for a pair. Johnson poured in nine of her 15 points in the frame, as the Cavaliers entered the fourth trailing 60-56.

UVA trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter [71-63, 5:22] before mounting an 11-2 run to take just its second lead of the game with 27 seconds remaining. UNC (25-6, 13-5) regained the lead with 19 seconds to play, but four free throws from Clark and Johnson sealed the win for Virginia.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Double figure scorers: Lattimore (23), Clark (17), Noyan (16), Johnson (15)
• Johnson registered her third game of the season with 10-plus assists
• Johnson’s double-double was her fourth of the season
• Lattimore recorded her eighth 20-point game of the season
• With three blocks on the day, Lattimore ties Jocelyn Logan-Friend for the sixth-highest single-season total in program history (63)
• With 11 assists today, Johnson has notched 176 on the season, tied for the seventh-highest single-season total in program history
• Noyan drilled a career-high four 3-pointers
• Noyan’s 16 points match a career high set earlier this season (vs Coppin St., 12/21/24)
• Clark’s 17 points is just two shy of a career-high
• Virginia has recorded 10-plus 3-pointers in six games this season and is 5-1 in those games
• Johnson logged 5-plus steals in a game for the second time this season
• Virginia was outrebounded by a margin of 39-29 and improves to 3-10 on the season when losing the battle on the glass

WITH THE WIN…

• The Cavaliers record their first win in Chapel Hill since a 78-76 win over UNC (1/11/01)
• Virginia improves to 36-59 in the all-time series with North Carolina
• UVA notches its first win over ranked opposition this season and it’s first upset win over a top-10 team on the road since a victory over No. 5 Tennessee (11/17/08)
• The Cavaliers finish the season with eight ACC wins, the most since the 2018-19 season
• Virginia records its largest comeback win of the season and overcomes a 15-plus point deficit for the first time since an overtime win over Missouri (11/30/23)
• UVA has overcome 13-plus point deficits to win each of its last two meetings with the Tar Heels
• Virginia has won four of its last five games to end the regular season

UP NEXT

The No. 10-seeded Cavaliers will be back in action on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. (ACC Network) against No. 15 seed Pitt in the opening round of the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, being held at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., from March 5-9 (see full bracket below).