On a raucous floor at the KFC Yum! Center, Virginia executed its most impressive performance of the season to record its most ACC wins in 26 years, knocking off No. 8 Louisville 74-72 after a commanding final period, which ended in a back-and-forth thriller that was not decided until the buzzer sounded.
The Cardinals (24-5, 14-2 ACC) opened the scoring against a shaky Virginia defense, but the Cavaliers (19-8, 11-5 ACC) quickly settled in. With graduate guard Romi Levy remaining in the starting lineup after just six minutes played as a starter against Stanford, she knocked down an early three to give Virginia its first lead. Shortly after, Louisville’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Tajianna Roberts, exited the game with an injury and would not return — a pivotal moment that shifted the course of the game.
Following Levy’s shot from downtown, Virginia endured a scoring drought as Louisville fired back with an 8-0 run and lead 10-3. Junior forward Sa’Myah Smith answered with a three-pointer of her own, ending both the Cardinals’ run and her own 0-for-18 streak dating back to the New Year’s Day bout against Clemson. That shot sparked a 15-2 Cavalier run fueled by defensive pressure and well-executed transition offense. Virginia forced six first-quarter turnovers and held Louisville to 6-for-16 shooting, including 2-for-8 from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 13 in the first half, shooting 15-for-27 from the field and 4-for-8 from three, while Louisville managed just 9-for-34. Virginia’s defensive intensity set the tone as the Cardinals struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half.
Free throws kept Louisville in the game — 10-for-10 from the charity stripe prevented a first-half blowout. The Cardinals ended up missing just one free throw on the day, shooting 14-for-15, heading into the break with an 11-point deficit, 41-30.
However, it was clear that the No. 8 team in the country would not go down without a fight.
After struggling from the field all game, Louisville punched back in the third period. An 8-0 run to open the half — capped by an and-one, a drawn charge and a three from junior forward Elif Istanbulluoglu — cut Virginia’s double-digit lead to three just two minutes into the second half. Istanbulluoglu led the game in scoring with 20, stepping up to fill the scoring that Roberts normally provides.
Physicality escalated on both ends as the teams traded runs and baskets. A tough layup through contact from Virginia’s leading scorer on the season, junior guard Kymora Johnson, ended the third quarter to take a seven-point lead heading into the fourth.
But Louisville continued to strike. In the second half, the Cardinals stayed alive by attacking the glass, outworking and outhustling the Cavaliers on the boards, finishing the game with a plus-eight rebounding advantage. Louisville tied the game at 61 with a three-pointer from Istanbulluoglu with five and a half minutes left.
The final minutes became a shootout marked by intense physicality and both teams vying to prove who needed this win more.
Johnson drained a clutch three-point shot to retake the lead with just over a minute remaining to total 16 points on the afternoon — 12 of which were recorded in the second half. Three significant free throws on the other end from sophomore guard Imari Berry gave Louisville the lead right back.
Then came the dagger.
With 13 seconds on the clock, Levy pulled up from well beyond the three-point line and buried the lead-taking three on an assist from senior guard Paris Clark, shutting the door and silencing the Louisville crowd.
Levy and Clark were key contributors in this high-octane upset. Levy notched 15 points on a season-high of three triples and three rebounds, while Clark packed the box score with 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
In a game defined by momentum swings, defensive intensity and timely shot-making under pressure, the Cavaliers walked away with a signature 74-72 victory against a top-10 ranked opponent in one of the country’s toughest environments. The win marked Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton’s third top-10 victory of her tenure, the first since March 2, 2025, when Virginia took down then-No. 8 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Next, the Cavaliers will head back to John Paul Jones Arena to take on No. 22 North Carolina (23-6, 12-4 ACC) at 7 p.m., Thursday on ACCNX, to try to leap ahead of the Tar Heels, putting Virginia in a prime position to obtain an ACC Tournament double bye and earn a seed in the NCAA Tournament come March.