CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)- Kymora Johnson scored all but one of her 26 points in the second half, but the Virginia women’s basketball team’s furious comeback bid fell short in an 83-82 loss to rival Virginia Tech, a defeat that dropped the Cavaliers to the No. 8 seed in this week’s ACC tournament.
UVA will play ninth-seeded Clemson on Thursday in Duluth, Ga.
“That one hurts,” Virginia coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “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.”
Paris Clark made one of two free throws with 24 seconds left to put UVA ahead 82-81. But with 1.7 seconds to play, Tech’s Carleigh Wenzel drew a foul from Romi Levy. Wenzel, who led the Hokies with a game-high 29 points, sank both her free throws to secure the win.
The Hokies moved up to the 6-seed for the tournament and will play Thursday against the winner of the Georgia Tech-Florida State first round game.
The visiting Hokies led 43-28 at the half, after being ahead by as many as 23 points in the second quarter.
Virginia was unable to find any rhythm in the first half against a Hokie offense that boxed the Hoos out on the boards, got the better of them on the dribble, and was near-automatic from 3-point range.
Tech 6-15 from three-point range, outrebounding Virginia 20-15, and forced ten turnovers out of the Hoos.  Carleigh Wenzel led all scorers with 12 first half points for the Hokies, including hitting a pair of 3s.
Following the interval, the Hoos sliced up the Hokies’ 15-point lead at the conclusion of the third quarter, and thanks to 16 third-quarter points from Johnson, the Virginia Tech lead fell to just four at the start of the fourth.
Virginia won the third quarter, 29-18.  Tabitha Amanze also found her stride and drew even with Carys Baker on rebounds with six going into the fourth. Virginia improved their shooting percentage from 40% at the half to 51% at the start of the fourth.
The Hoos found a way back with timely drawing of fouls and some much better shooting and tied the game at 81-81 with 45 seconds to play.
With 24 seconds left, Paris Clark gave the Hoos their first lead since they scored the first basket of the game and took a 2-0 lead in first quarter.
Wenzel converted a pair of free throws with two seconds left and gave the Hokies a one-point advantage on the Hoos’ final possession, and when Sa’Myah Smith’s jump shot came up short, the Hokies survived the Virginia comeback.
Clark finished with 16 points, Amanze added 11 with seven rebounds.  Wenzel ended the game with a strong performance where she notched 29 points, leading all players, along with four rebounds. Her teammate Baker was also a force with 16 points, and seven rebounds.
The Hoos begin ACC tournament action on Thursday from Duluth, Georgia.  You can listen live here on Cvillerightnow.com.
Virginia Tech guard Carleigh Wenzel (1) handles the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Syracuse, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)