WBB: Cavaliers battle back, but fall against No. 18 Yellow Jackets, 75-62

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half but mounted a valiant comeback effort to bring the game back within just a pair in the final minutes. The Cavaliers ultimately fell to No. 18 Georgia Tech by a score of 75-62 on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Kymora Johnson (22 pts, 10-19 FG, 5 ast, 3 stl) turned in her ninth 20-point game of the season while freshman forward Breona Hurd (16 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast) provided a crucial lift to the Cavaliers’ resurgence as she tallied 13 points in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a slow start to the game, Georgia Tech finished the opening period on a 15-0 run in the final six minutes of the first quarter. The Cavaliers (11-9, 3-5 ACC) entered the second period trailing by a score of 21-6. Virginia shot just 20 percent (3 for 15) from the floor in the opening quarter.

Five straight Georgia Tech points to open the second marked a 20-point Yellow Jacket run and pushed the Cavalier deficit to 20 points [26-6]. However, Virginia found momentum in the later stages of the period and pulled back within 11 points [30-19]. UVA shot 46 percent in the period (7 of 15) and trailed 36-24 going into the half.

The Cavaliers continued to chip away at the Yellow Jacket lead in the third to draw within six [43-37] but would enter the fourth trailing by nine [53-44]. Hurd provided a spark off the bench that proved crucial to the UVA comeback effort pouring in seven of her 16 points in the third quarter.

Virginia trailed by as many as 12 points in the fourth, but the Cavaliers once again were able to rally and pull back within just two [64-62]. Johnson led the late charge for Virginia netting nine of her 22 points and three of her five assists in the period. However, Georgia Tech (17-4, 5-3) finished the game on a 12-0 run.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Double-figure scorers: Johnson (22), Hurd (16), Lattimore (10)
• Johnson turned in her ninth 20-point game of the season
• Hurd scored in double figures for the 12th time in 20 games this season
• Lattimore recorded her eighth double-double of the season (10 pts, 10 reb)
• Lattimore’s 10 rebounds mark her ninth game with double figures on the glass
• Virginia’s 11 turnovers mark a season-low
• UVA won the turnover battle (11-13) and falls to 5-2 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponents
• Virginia was outrebounded by a margin of 44-30
• The Yellow Jackets outscored UVA 12-2 on second-chance opportunities
• UVA outscored Georgia Tech in both the second and third quarters
• Olivia McGhee tied a career-high with three steals
• Edessa Noyan tied a career-high with 3 assists and two steals
• Lattimore tied a career-high with 6 made free throws
• Georgia Tech scored 44 points off the bench compared to Virginia’s 16

FROM HEAD COACH AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON

“Georgia Tech, credit to them, they’re a great team, and they’re having a great season. Nell has done a great job there. But when you’re playing great teams, you can’t play two quarters out of the four. We need to compete for 40 minutes. I thought we had grown in recent games in doing that, and today took a little step back, but we’ll fix it. We’ll get back to work. We’ll get healthy, get our treatment in, and be ready to go on Sunday.”

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers return to action on Sunday when they host Louisville. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 2 p.m. on The CW.