Late triple helps Virginia women escape Arizona State in sloppy First Four battle

Thursday's First Four finale between the 10-seeds Arizona State and Virginia was not the most exciting to watch, but it delivered when it mattered most.

Despite leading by as many as nine, Virginia's lead was trimmed late as Arizona State (24-11, 9-9 Big 12) tied things up at 51 in the final minute. That is when Virginia's Kymora Johnson responded with the game-winning three in a 57-55 victory.

With a team-high 17 points (5-of-18 FG) and 10 rebounds, Johnson posted her ninth career double-double as Virginia (20-11, 11-7 ACC) picked up its first NCAA Tournament win since 2018.

Virginia survives defensive slugfest to advance to Round of 64

Johnson's heroics came just 11 seconds after Arizona State's Marley Washenitz hit a three of her own. She quickly helped the Cavaliers regain the lead and seal the dramatic win.

The fact that Virginia even won this game speaks to its defensive effort. While it only shot 4-of-23 (17%) from deep, it forced 16 turnovers and made it difficult on the Sun Devils to establish any rhythm.

To be fair, neither team entered this matchup with a lot of momentum. Arizona State lost four of its last seven coming into the night, while Virginia had dropped three in a row.

The Cavaliers will now turn their attention to the 7-seed Georgia (22-9, 8-8 SEC) on Saturday, but don't be surprised if the gritty win against Arizona State carries over.

The Bulldogs enter the Big Dance having won only four of their last 10 games. However, they started the season 14-0 and will certainly give Virginia another test in the first round. Led by the balanced scoring attack of sophomore guard Dani Carnegie (18.1 PPG) and sophomore forward Mia Woolfolk (13.4 PPG), they will pose more of an offensive threat to Virginia.

In addition, the Bulldogs have had the best single-season turnaround in school history after going 13-19 one year ago. Despite the rough stretch to end the season, Georgia is the Associated Press No. 24 team in the country and is hungry to build off that historic improvement.

With that said, Virginia has reached 20 wins for the first time since 2017 and is making its first tournament appearance under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. If Thursday's First Four performance is any indication, they are ready for anything that comes their way, even if it may not be the most pleasing to watch.