Fresh off its thrilling upset of then-No. 8 Louisville on Sunday, the Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team slipped up on its home floor Thursday night, falling to No. 21 North Carolina 82-70 in the penultimate game of the regular season.
The ’Hoos looked lethargic early on inside John Paul Jones Arena, digging themselves a 17-point halftime deficit while the Tar Heels lit it up from beyond the arc, shooting an astonishing 67% from 3-point
range on the night.
With the loss, Virginia falls to 19-9 overall and 11-6 in the ACC, knocking the ’Hoos into a five-way tie for fifth place in the league standings. Though a double-bye in the ACC Tournament is now off the table, Virginia will have plenty at stake in the regular-season finale, a Sunday afternoon rematch with Virginia Tech, which defeated UVA in Blacksburg on February 1st.
In the meantime, here are three takeaways from Virginia’s disappointing loss to the Tar Heels:
Virginia couldn’t overcome a sluggish start
With an opportunity to all but lock up an NCAA Tournament bid with a win, Virginia came out with a disappointing lack of intensity on Thursday night. The ’Hoos made just three field goals, scored just eight points, and were outrebounded 13-10 in the first quarter as the Tar Heels used a game-opening 9-0 run to squash Virginia’s momentum from the jump.
“It was a rough start,” Coach Mox said postgame. “We wanted to set the tone in our gym, but it was a rough start … [and] we had to fight to get out of that hole the whole game. We can’t start like that … I think our players understand that … and [North Carolina] capitalized on that.”
UNC would continue to grow its lead throughout the first half and led by as many as 22 points early in the third quarter. And while Virginia was finally able to flip the switch offensively late in the game, leading to a 47-point second-half output, the early struggles were too much to overcome. The ’Hoos needed to bring their A-game to pull another upset over one of the ACC’s best squads; instead, they came out flat.
UNC shot the lights out
Even if Virginia had played its best offensive basketball on Thursday night, it’s nearly impossible to beat a team that shoots 67% from 3-point range, as North Carolina managed to do. The Tar Heels knocked down 16-of-24 shots from beyond the arc, and each time the ’Hoos managed to cut into the UNC lead (UVA got as close as nine points with 8:27 to go), the Tar Heels would hit a momentum-halting triple to silence the JPJ crowd.
“Credit to North Carolina,” Coach Mox said. “I thought they played really, really well. That was disappointing, [but] it’s hard to beat a team if they make 16 threes … That’s a phenomenal shooting night for them … I just didn’t think we were clicking and on the same page.”
Virginia got a valiant effort from Kymora Johnson (22 points, four assists) and Romi Levy (15 points, five rebounds), but the ’Hoos didn’t have the same balanced offensive attack that proved so vital against Louisville. Paris Clark dished out a team-high five assists but finished just 1-of-4 from distance, while freshman Gabby White picked up four quick fouls in just six minutes of action, limiting her impact.
The ’Hoos are still on the right side of the bubble
Thursday’s loss certainly doesn’t undo the progress that Virginia made with its upset of Louisville, and a loss to the highly ranked Tar Heels won’t tarnish UVA’s resume all too much. But by failing to take advantage of having a top-25 team on its home floor, the loss absolutely amplifies the importance of Sunday’s finale against the Hokies.
Even after Thursday’s result, ESPN still projects the ’Hoos as one of the NCAA Tournament field’s ‘Last Four Byes’ as of Friday morning, meaning Virginia is safe for now. But the ’Hoos can’t afford another slip-up against fellow bubbler Virginia Tech. A second-straight loss would put a ton of pressure on making a run in the ACC Tournament, where the ’Hoos have earned just one win during the Coach Mox era.
“Just trusting in each other, trusting in Coach Mox and the staff,” Levy said on how Virginia can improve heading into the matchup against the Hokies. “We know how good we can be, we just beat Louisville … So, we know where we can be, we know that today wasn’t our best performance, and we’ve just got to bounce back and get ready for Virginia Tech.”
The ’Hoos will look to finish the regular season on a high note and boost their conference tournament seeding in round two of the Commonwealth Clash on Sunday. Tip-off in Charlottesville is scheduled for 12:00 PM EST with coverage available on ACC Network.
