IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Kymora Johnson 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 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 added 11 points off the bench for Virginia and Romi Levy scored 10.
Marley Washenitz made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Arizona State (24-11). McKinna Brackens had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Heloisa Carrera also scored 10.
Gabby Elliott, 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.
Up next
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.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
