Johnson sinks go-ahead 3-pointer and Virginia beats Arizona State 57-55 in women's First Four

Kymora Johnson (5'7''-G) scored 17 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30.6 seconds remaining, and Virginia beat Arizona State 57-55 on Thursday night in the First Four for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2018. Virginia (20-11), the No. 10 seed, will face seventh-seeded and 24th-ranked Georgia in the first round on Saturday. The Cavaliers are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and first under coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. Johnson's key 3-pointer — Virginia's first of the second half in 10 attempts — made it 54-51. Johnson went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 5.3 seconds left to cap the scoring and Arizona State guard Jyah LoVett (5'8''-G) lost control of the ball in the paint at the other end as the clock ran out. Johnson also had 10 rebounds and five assists for her ninth career double-double. Caitlin Weimar (6'4''-F) added 11 points off the bench for Virginia and Romi Levy (6'3''-G) scored 10. Marley Washenitz (5'7''-G) made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Arizona State (24-11). McKinna Brackens (6'1''-F) had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Heloisa Carrera (6'2''-F-2006) also scored 10. Gabby Elliott (5'10''-G), who entered averaging a team-high 16 points per game for ASU, made just her second field goal in 10 attempts with 3:18 remaining to get within 48-46. She finished with 11 points, on 3-of-13 shooting, and nine rebounds. The Sun Devils were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 under first-year coach Molly Miller. Virginia, which reached 20 wins in a season for the first time since 2017, will play a Georgia team that had the best single-season turnaround in school history after going 13-19 last year. The Bulldogs are making their 37th appearance in the tournament.
Courtesy of: abcnews.com