Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia trailed by eight points early, but a second-quarter surge and late heroics from Kymora Johnson powered UVA to victory on Sunday afternoon. The Cavaliers defeated Stanford by a score of 75-68 at Maples Pavilion.

Johnson’s 25 points led all scorers as she went on to record five rebounds and four assists. Caitlin Weimar (12 pts, 8 reb) and Gabby White (11 pts, 9 reb) each provided a crucial lift for the Cavaliers off the bench as the Cavaliers recorded a total of 36 bench points compared to Stanford’s six.

Virginia recorded 28 points at the free-throw (28 for 32) line while limiting Stanford to 20 attempts (15 for 20) and outrebounding the Cardinal 46-36. UVA notched its 10th ACC win of the season to match its highest total since 2017-18, the last time Virginia was selected to the NCAA tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Cavaliers (18-8, 10-5 ACC) fell into an early 10-2 hole as the Cardinal connected on four of their first six attempts from the field. However, the Cavaliers closed the opening period on a 9-3 run and went into the second trailing 13-11. White provided a spark off the bench playing seven first-quarter minutes in which she led the team with five points and two rebounds.

Virginia stormed to a 23-17 lead while outscoring Stanford 12-4 in the first 5:30 of the second quarter. The Cavaliers outscored the Cardinal 25-15 for the period as Johnson beat the halftime buzzer to send UVA into the locker room with a 36-28 advantage. White led all players at the half with 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field as the Cavalier bench outscored the Cardinal bench 19-4 in the opening half.

The Cardinal (16-11, 5-9) pulled within just one point [40-39] early in the third quarter and eventually tied the game at 45-45 with 4:46 remaining in the period. However, Virginia closed the third quarter on an 11-4 run which consisted of 11 consecutive makes for at the free-throw line. The Cavaliers went into the fourth leading 59-51.

In the fourth, Stanford mounted a 13-1 scoring run to take a 64-62 lead with 4:22 remaining in the game. Following a pair of misses at the free-throw line for Stanford, Johnson sunk a pair at the other end to level the score at 64-64. One possession later, Johnson came up with an offensive rebound before connecting from beyond the arc to take a 67-64 lead with 1:52 remaining. She went on to convert on eight consecutive free-throw attempts to seal the victory for Virginia.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Double figure scorers: Johnson (25), Weimar (12), White (11)
• Johnson recorded her 12th 20-pt game of the season and 32nd of her career.
• White scored in double figures for the eighth time of her career, and seventh time off the bench
• Caitlin Weimar scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and 81st in her career
• Breona Hurd (8 pts, 2 for 3 3FG) logged her second-highest minutes total of the season (27)
• The Cavaliers scored 36 points off the bench
• UVA has scored 36-plus bench point five times this season
• Virginia outrebounded Stanford 46-36 and improves to 18-4 when outrebounding its opponents
• The Cavaliers made 11 consecutive free throws in the third quarter (3:02-0:58)
• Virginia went 28-32 from the free-throw line, compared to Stanford’s 15-20
• UVA has attempted at least 30 free throws three times this season
• Kymora Johnson went a career-best 12 for 12 from the free-throw line
• Adeang Ring went a career-best 5 for 5 from the free-throw line

WITH THE WIN …

• UVA records its 10th win in ACC play; its most since its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18
• The Cavaliers recorded their largest comeback win of the season (8 pts)
• The Cavaliers improve to 17-1 when leading at halftime
• Virginia improves to 3-3 in the all-time series with Stanford
• The Cavaliers are 2-0 against the Cardinal on the road
• Virginia improves to 13-5 when playing in the state of California

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers travel to take on Louisville Sunday. Tipoff from KFC Yum! Center is set for 2 p.m. on The CW. Fans can also tune in live on WINA (98.9FM/1070AM).

Sunday’s ACC Scoreboard

Virginia 75, Stanford 69
SMU 79, Pitt 78
Miami 82, Boston College 70
Duke 72, North Carolina 68
Syracuse 68, Clemson 64
Notre Dame 79, NC State 67
Virginia Tech 68, California 58
Louisville 88, Florida State 65