Virginia Cavaliers stun Iowa in double overtime to reach Sweet 16
Tenth seeds Virginia have become the first ever First Four team to reach the NCAA women’s Sweet 16 after stunning hosts Iowa 83-75 in double overtime.
The Cavaliers secured their third victory in just five days by overcoming the second-seeded Hawkeyes in front of a capacity crowd of 14,332 in Iowa City.
Kymora Johnson delivered a standout performance for the visitors, scoring 14 of her game-high 28 points during the two additional periods.
It marks the first time the Charlottesville programme has advanced to the second weekend of the tournament since 2000.
Missed opportunities for the hosts
Iowa had multiple chances to seal the game before the second overtime period was required.
Chazadi Wright failed to connect on a turnaround jumper with just one second remaining in regulation time.
The hosts were similarly frustrated at the conclusion of the first overtime when Taylor Stremlow missed a three-pointer and Ava Heiden could not convert the follow-up attempt.
Heiden had otherwise been exceptional for the home side, leading her team with 26 points despite picking up two early fouls.
Gruelling schedule yields historic run
To reach this stage, the resilient 10th seeds had already navigated a narrow 57-55 triumph over Arizona State on Thursday before defeating Georgia in overtime on Saturday.
Paris Clark contributed 20 vital points for the history-making squad, while Romi Levy added 13 to help maintain their remarkable postseason momentum.
The last time a 10-seed reached this stage of the competition was in 2022, when Creighton remarkably also eliminated Iowa in the second round.
Virginia will now travel to the Sacramento Regional 4 semifinals to face third seeds TCU.