The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan
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The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan
The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Virginia women’s basketball defeats Arizona State, enters round of 64 in the Iowa City region

If Iowa were to advance to the second round, the Hawkeyes would face the winner of Virginia and Georgia.
Matt McGowan, Sports Editor
March 19, 2026
Ayrton Breckenridge
Fans pull out their phones awaiting the arrival of the Iowa women’s basketball team during an end-of-season celebration to honor the Iowa women’s basketball team’s historic run in the NCAA tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 1 Iowa, 87-75, during an NCAA Championship game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, April 7, 2024. The Gamecocks finished the season undefeated with 38 wins. The game marks Iowa’s second straight runner-up finish for the title.

The Iowa City region of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament solidified itself after Virginia defeated Arizona State, 57-55, in the First Four on Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The 10th-seeded Cavaliers will face seventh-seeded Georgia on Saturday.

Virginia achieved its first NCAA tournament win since 2018, knocking out Arizona State with a pair of double-doubles. Third-year guard Kymora Johnson scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while graduate student forward Caitlin Weimar contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Guards Romi Levy and Paris Clark added 10 and nine points, respectively, to pace the Cavaliers, who improved to 20-11 overall.

Virginia shot just 32.3 percent from the floor and 17.4 percent from deep, but scored 12 points off 16 Arizona State turnovers to take the victory.

“This is big for our program and for us to do it in a way where we had to weather the storm, we had to rely on our defense, which is something we’ve been better at this last week and a half,” Virginia head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “I’m just really proud of our effort.”

Georgia (22-9, sixth-place in the SEC) awaits on Saturday, March 21. Tip-off is set for 12:30 p.m. Central Time on ESPN2. Second-seeded Iowa and 15th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson will follow at 3 p.m. on ESPN. The winners of each of these matchups square off on Monday, March 23, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.