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The Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team lost its second-straight game Sunday afternoon, falling to Virginia Tech, 83-82, in the final contest of the regular season. UVA, which dropped to 19-10 overall and 11-7 in ACC play, rallied from a massive first-half deficit but came up just short on senior day inside John Paul Jones Arena.
Battle at JPJ today#GoHoos#GNSLpic.twitter.com/ip4TLa5STD
— Virginia Women's Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) March 1, 2026
Just like on Thursday night against No. 21 North Carolina, Virginia had the opportunity to all but lock up its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2018 with a win against a quality opponent on its home floor. But once again, the ’Hoos were unable to capitalize, and they continue sit precariously on the bubble.
Virginia Tech hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter, began the second quarter on a 12-3 run, and led by as many as 23 points in the first half on Sunday afternoon, as for the second-straight game, the ’Hoos came out flat while their opponent lit it up from beyond the arc.
But Coach Mox’s squad would not go quietly this time, and after going into the locker room down 43-28 at the break, Virginia came out with renewed energy in the second half. Behind a 25-point second-half outburst from Kymora Johnson, Virginia managed to climb all the way back and briefly took an 82-81 lead late in the fourth quarter on a Paris Clark free throw with 24 seconds remaining.
A highly questionable last-second foul call on Romi Levy, however, sent Hokie guard Carleigh Wenzel to the free throw line, where she calmly canned a pair to put Virginia Tech back in front. With 1.7 seconds left to work with, the ’Hoos had one last chance to steal a win. But Coach Mox’s sideline out-of-bounds play crumbled, and Sa’Myah Smith ended up unsuccessfully heaving a deep 3-pointer toward the basket as time expired.
It’s easy to pin the blame on the referees, who blew the whistle in a critical moment despite what looked like minimal (if any) contact by Levy on a driving Wenzel. But Virginia’s disappointing first-half performance was what put the game in the officials’ hands. The ’Hoos turned the ball over 10 times, knocked down just one 3-pointer, and were outrebounded 20-15 in the opening 20 minutes of action. Against a likely NCAA Tournament team in the Hokies, a squad which had already bested the ’Hoos in Blacksburg earlier this season, Virginia simply could not afford the lethargic start that created a 23-point hole.
“That one hurts,” Coach Mox said after the game. “We wanted to win that game for many reasons. Obviously, we always want to win a game on senior day against our rivals. We didn’t start the game great at all. It was getting very bad, but I thought we battled back and showed a lot of fight down the stretch.”
Forever a Hoo#GoHoos
— Virginia Women's Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) March 1, 2026
Sunday afternoon’s results in Charlottesville and around the conference concluded the regular season slate and finalized the ACC Tournament bracket. The tournament, which will be held in Duluth, Georgia, this season, gets underway with first-round action on Wednesday. Thanks to a bye, the eighth-seeded ’Hoos will tip off on Thursday in a second-round matchup against ninth-seeded Clemson.
To get you set for Virginia’s ACC Tournament run, here are the two questions that will define the week for the ’Hoos:
Can UVA reverse its dreadful recent ACC Tournament history?
Sunday went just about as poorly as possible for the ’Hoos. Not only did Virginia fall in gut-wrenching fashion to Virginia Tech, but Notre Dame managed to upset Louisville on the road — a result that was much to the detriment of Virginia’s seeding in the ACC Tournament, since the ’Hoos would’ve owned the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Fighting Irish.
As a result, Virginia, which came into Sunday in a five-way tie for fifth place in the conference standings, fell all the way to the eighth seed and bought itself the hardest-possible path in Duluth.
Instead of facing a bottoming ACC opponent which would be playing its second game in as many days in the second round, the ’Hoos fell into the eight vs. nine matchup and will take on the NCAA Tournament-worthy Clemson Tigers on Thursday morning. Though Virginia bested Clemson, 73-63, in their lone matchup this season on January 1st, things could’ve been a lot easier for the ’Hoos had they taken care of business this past week.
Regardless of its path, Virginia will be looking to do something in Duluth that it hasn’t done since 2018: advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. As astonishing as it sounds (considering a trip to the quarters often only requires winning one game), the ’Hoos have had an incredibly tough time earning wins in the conference tournament in recent memory.
In the Coach Mox era, Virginia is just 1-3 in ACC Tournament games. Its lone win came in the first round last season, 64-50 over Pittsburgh. But the ’Hoos followed it up by getting blasted, 75-58, by California the next day.
Mercifully, one thing did go Virginia’s way in the bracket: Wake Forest is nowhere near the ’Hoos. The Demon Deacons ended UVA’s season in 2022, 2023, and 2024, but barring a meet-up in the title game, the ’Hoos will dodge their postseason kryptonite for the second-straight year.
Will Virginia do enough to earn an NCAA Tournament berth?
UVA continues to test fate by refusing to put the finishing touches on its resume. The upset of Louisville had Virginia feeling great about its chances of securing a bid, but by losing to UNC and Virginia Tech, the ’Hoos now need to win a game in Duluth to feel comfortable heading into Selection Sunday.
According to ESPN’s latest projections, Virginia is still among the ‘Last Four Byes’ to make the NCAA Tournament, meaning the ’Hoos should have a little wiggle room on the bubble. But a loss to Clemson on Thursday morning would create an excruciating week of waiting ahead of March 15th’s bracket reveal.
Beating the Tigers would allow the ’Hoos to breathe easy. And in a perfect world, going on to upset the top-ranked Blue Devils in the quarterfinals would do wonders for Virginia’s seeding — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Tournament time
️ https://t.co/IZvTz9NoBy#GoHoos
— Virginia Women's Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) March 2, 2026
For now, Coach Mox’s Cavaliers have one of the most important games in recent program history up next on the schedule. Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 11 AM EST on Thursday with coverage available on ACC Network.
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