With three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter Sunday, Virginia had clawed back. After trailing throughout the entire game against Louisville — often by double digits — the Cavaliers cut their deficit to just three points, and had possession of the basketball. They had held the Cardinals (14-6, 7-2 ACC) to zero field goals in the past four minutes. An electric comeback victory at John Paul Jones Arena was ripe for the taking.
The Cavaliers (11-10, 3-6 ACC) saw their chance. This Virginia squad had battled all afternoon to even have a prayer of a chance to salvage a rough start and earn a sorely-needed win. And then they saw their chance slip through their fingers, again. With the game on the line, the Cavaliers failed to score in the final three minutes.
Coming out of a timeout with four seconds left, the Cavaliers had the ball. A three-point shot would force overtime. Star sophomore guard Kymora Johnson got the ball, heaved it up and missed as the clock expired.
The result was deflating. At halftime, Virginia trailed by 15 points and appeared to be on a collision course towards another bad loss. But just like they have done all season, these Cavaliers fought back vigorously — only for the end result to turn sour. That has been the recurring theme for Virginia this year. Day late, buck short.
Also lingering is the fact that the Cavaliers lost this game by three points, and missed a trio of free throws.
As per usual, going hand-in-hand with the Cavaliers’ recurring lack of clutch offense was abominable three-point shooting. Virginia cratered Sunday — making one three-point shot on 14 attempts. Shooting 7.1 percent from deep is what one would expect from a middle school team, not a Division I offense with several highly talented stars.
To be fair, Louisville did not excel from long distance either — but it did eclipse the 27 percent mark.
Another key indictment, the Cavaliers did themselves no favors in the realm of team defense. Senior guard Jayda Curry sprayed four three-point shots in the first quarter — finishing the game with 19 points plus eight assists. She was aided by fellow double digit scorers junior forward Nyla Harris, freshman guard Tajianna Roberts and graduate forward Olivia Cochran — who posted a double-double.
Overall, Louisville starters scored 58 points, while the starting Cavaliers had some strange performances.
Senior forward Latasha Lattimore was quiet in the first half, but scored all 15 of her points in the second half. Additionally, Johnson netted 75 percent of her total points in the second half. While the heart of Virginia’s offense stepped up late, some starters never got going.
Sophomore guard Olivia McGhee struggled immensely, earning a -12 plus-minus score and contributing just three points in 28 minutes of playing time. Even worse than a three-point outing was the fact that the Cardinals’ guards torched the Cavalier defense. Having an off-day on offense is not too detrimental, but being a defensive liability is.
However, one contributor was essential to Virginia’s near-comeback. Junior guard Paris Clark was fantastic, scoring 19 points and corralling seven rebounds. Both statistics were the team’s best. Clark did her part even when other Cavaliers had a tough day.
Now, Virginia is in a tough spot. In the midst of a three-game losing streak, any hope of making the NCAA Tournament — or even earning a high seed in the National Invitational Tournament — is on life support.
There are nine games left in the regular season, and the Cavaliers will need to win most of them in order to keep postseason hopes alive. Making a deep run in the ACC Tournament is also necessary in order to beef up a postseason resume.
Unfortunately, it may already be too late. Realistically, postseason hopes died after a disappointing early stretch of play in which Virginia struggled to beat subpar competition. But to put fleeting postseason aspirations aside, this season can still be considered a mild success as long as there is progress demonstrated. Any improvement over last season could still mark the 2024-25 campaign as a positive one.
In order to improve from last year in the win column, Virginia must win six of the final nine games. At this current rate, that may not happen — but there is always a chance. The Cavaliers will get an opportunity to rebound Thursday at Miami, tipping off at 7:00 in Coral Gables, Fla.
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