With just under six minutes remaining in Sunday’s contest, the Cavalier faithful in John Paul Jones Arena moved to the edge of their seats as the video board displayed that sophomore guard Kymora Johnson was just two points away from reaching 1,000 career points. Fans did not have to wait long to jump out of their seats, as just 30 seconds later, Johnson knived her way to the basket and laid it in to etch her name in the Virginia women’s basketball history books.
“Honestly, I didn't even know that I was close to my 1,000th point,” Johnson said. “I was like, whatever, we got a game to play.”
Johnson had 18 points through three quarters, and it appeared as if she would not hit the milestone Sunday. However, a sequence early in the fourth quarter changed things. Johnson hit a three-point shot, stole a Stanford pass and pulled up to hit another triple in 12 seconds to put her electric playstyle on full display. Suddenly, she had a shot at the monumental career mark.
Johnson’s 33 total points in the game were a season-high and just two points shy of her career best that she achieved during her freshman year. On top of the scoring, Johnson poured in 12 assists and eight rebounds — giving her an incredible stat line that has not been achieved in women’s college basketball since 2018, which was done by Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark.
Johnson was not the only Cavalier to put on a show, though, as the entire team looked cohesive and helped contribute to the dominant 89-69 win over Stanford.
“This was probably our best game all season on both sides of the ball,” Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “I think we were just locked in.”
Just four minutes into the first quarter, senior forward Latasha Lattimore drained a three-point shot to put Virginia up 13-1 — giving the Cavaliers (14-14, 6-10 ACC) a double digit lead that they would hold onto for the remainder of the contest. The Cardinal (14-13, 6-10 ACC) had no answer for the red hot Virginia offense, which connected on a season-high 14 three-point shots.
Junior guard Paris Clark, who entered the game shooting just 17 percent from deep, hit two long balls as a part of her 18 points. Despite her woes this season, Clark shot the ball with confidence, making the Stanford defense pay for sagging off all game.
“I know I can shoot the ball,” Clark said. “I'm in the gym all the time, before practice, after practice, just with the coaches, just putting up extra shots and on my own.”
While Clark and Johnson tore up the Cardinal defense from the perimeter, senior forward Latasha Lattimore dominated the paint — putting up 21 points and 12 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season.
Her play down low, especially early in the game, forced Stanford to either play two-three zone or play man defense and crash the paint with their perimeter defenders. Both situations freed up Johnson and Clark for jumpshots, creating an unstoppable offense for Virginia. This performance from Lattimore follows up an uncharacteristically disappointing outing against California last Thursday.
“I was actually pretty disappointed in her performance in the Cal game, and it had nothing to do with points or anything like that, just competing and doing the things that she knows how to do,” Coach Agugua-Hamilton said. “[She was] just playing free, playing free, playing with energy and joy and all that … she really responded.”
Playing free was the story of Sunday’s contest, as the entire Virginia team could be smiling, dancing, and celebrating either on the court or bench throughout the whole game. If the Cavaliers are able to play as loose as they were able to Sunday, they could be a tough out and potentially even bust some brackets in the ACC tournament.
This level of intention from the Cavaliers is essential if they hope to make a postseason run. Virginia looks to carry this momentum on the road into their final two regular season games. The first leg of the road trip is against Southern Methodist, Thursday at 8 p.m., when Johnson will lead her squad into Texas with tons of momentum.
However, if there were any issues shown during the victory, it was the bench — as the starters totaled for 87 of Virginia’s 89 points. The three-headed monster of Johnson, Clark and Lattimore have proven it can carry a heavy workload, but extra help is needed against stiffer competition.
Even so, the video-game numbers from the Cavaliers were freshing — and the team keeps their focus on winning.
“We've been talking a lot about playing to win and not playing not to lose,” Johnson said. “I think that playing to win means you got to take every possession the same and it matters.”
It seems, for now, that Virginia has gotten back on track. When these Cavaliers are at their best, anything can happen.
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