IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Kemora Johnson scored 17 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30.6 seconds left, and Virginia beat Arizona State 57-55 in the Final Four on Thursday night to win its first NCAA tournament title since 2018.
No. 10 seed Virginia (20-11) will face seventh-seeded and No. 24 Georgia in Saturday’s first round. The Cavaliers are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and their first appearance under coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.
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Johnson’s clutch 3-pointer – Virginia’s first of ten second-half attempts – made it 54-51.
Johnson capped off the scoring by hitting 1 of 2 free throws with 5.3 seconds left, and ASU guard Jyah LoVett lost control of the ball in the paint at the other end as time ran out.
Johnson also had 10 rebounds and five assists for his ninth career double-double. Virginia’s Caitlin Weimar scored 11 points off the bench and Romi Levy scored 10 points.
Marley Wasenitz hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Arizona State (24-11). McKenna Brackens had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Haloisa Carrera also scored 10 points.
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Gabby Elliott, who averaged a team-high 16 points for Arizona State, made her second of 10 field goals to make it 48-46 with 3:18 left. She finished with 11 points and nine rebounds on 3-of-13 shooting.
The Sun Devils, led by first-year coach Molly Miller, are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Next
Virginia reaches 20 wins in a season for the first time since 2017 and will face a Georgia team that posted the best single-season comeback 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
