Johnson's Career Day Powers Virginia to Upset Win at No. 15 Florida State

Kymora Johnson scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Cavaliers to their first ACC win, knocking off the Seminoles on Sunday in Tallahassee

So, what does it take to win a game in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Apparently, nothing short of an otherworldly individual performance from your best player. 

Freshman sensation Kymora Johnson delivered that much and more for her Cavaliers, dropping a career-high 35 points and making clutch play after clutch play down the stretch to lead Virginia (9-9, 1-6 ACC) to a big-time upset win over No. 15 Florida State (14-6, 5-3 ACC) 91-87 on Sunday afternoon in Tallahassee. 

Even as they started conference play 0-6 and saw their overall record drop below .500, there were plenty of signs that the Cavaliers were much better than their record would suggest. Tangible evidence of Virginia's quality finally arrived on Sunday, as the Cavaliers came to play from start to finish, and on the road against a top-15 opponent no less. 

For the first time in ACC play this season, it was the Cavaliers, rather than their opponents, getting out to a dream start. Kymora Johnson and Olivia McGhee knocked down three-pointers and UVA jumped out to an early 11-1 lead, prompting a timeout from Florida State just a couple of minutes into the game. The Seminoles clawed back into it behind seven first-quarter points from O'Mariah Gordon, but a three-pointer from Jillian Brown gave Virginia a 27-22 lead at the end of the opening period. 

The Cavaliers' season-long ball security issues flared up once again in the second quarter, as they turned the ball over eight times in the second period alone. UVA also shot 0/4 from beyond the arc in the second, allowing Florida State to take the lead thanks to 10 second-quarter points from Makayla Timpson, who led all scorers with 15 points at halftime. The Seminoles did not turn the ball over a single time in the first half and scored 19 points off of 13 Virginia turnovers to take a 43-39 lead at the half. 

UVA stormed out of the gates in the second half with seven-straight points, with Johnson knocking down a three to put the Cavaliers in front. But the Seminoles answered with a run of their own, scoring the next nine points. 

It was during that third quarter that Johnson's performance went from great to phenomenal. Instead of letting the Seminoles run away with the game, Johnson put the team on her back, scoring 12 points and dishing out three assists in the third quarter alone. Johnson assisted on a corner three from Jillian Brown to give UVA the lead late in the third, but a layup from Sara Bejedi squared the score at 65-65 heading to the fourth quarter. 

Continuing the trend of Virginia's freshman class making an impact, Edessa Noyan scored baskets on back-to-back possessions as the Cavaliers started the final period strong. Camryn Taylor completed her double-double with a putback layup that gave UVA a seven-point lead, but she then fouled out on a highly questionable call away from the ball with a little under five minutes remaining. 

But even without Taylor, Virginia's freshmen made play after play, with Olivia McGhee knocking down a three and Johnson hitting a floater to keep UVA's lead at eight points. Refusing to go down without a fight, Florida State scored five-straight points on free throws to make it 85-83 with 39 seconds left. 

Naturally, the Cavaliers put the ball in the hands of Kymora Johnson with the game on the line and she delivered with a perfectly-placed floater high off the glass to give her team some breathing room. 

Florida State matched with a quick layup by Ta'Niya Latson and then it was up to Virginia to protect its lead at the free throw line. Kymora Johnson did just that, going 4/4 from the charity stripe in the last 16 seconds of the game to seal the upset win, UVA's first victory over an ACC foe this season and first win in Tallahassee since the 2012 season. 

Read Val's Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.

🔥 RANKED WIN ON THE ROAD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SgdumKuFEb

— Virginia Women's Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) January 21, 2024

Kymora Johnson's performance looks like this in the box score: 35 points on 14/20 shooting and 3/7 from three-point range, six assists, and seven rebounds in 36 minutes of action. But her game was even better than the numbers, as Johnson operated the Cavalier offense with extreme efficiency for the entire game and delivered seemingly countless clutch plays down the stretch in the fourth to lead UVA to the upset win. 

Four other Cavaliers scored in double figures, with Olivia McGhee scoring 12, Camryn Taylor posting an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double, and London Clarkson and Jillian Brown scoring 10 points apiece. Virginia shot 53.7% from the floor and 47.1% from beyond the arc, the team's second-best shooting game of the season. 

After turning the ball over 13 times in the first, Virginia committed only six turnovers after halftime, a big reason the Cavaliers were able to pull out this win. UVA also dominated the rebounding battle 48-30 and had 40 points in the paint. That, combined with Johnson's heroics, was enough to outlast the Seminoles, who got 22 points from Ta'Niya Latson and 21 points from Makayla Timpson. UVA held FSU under 40% from the floor and just 5/26 from beyond the arc. 

Having finally posted a check in the win column in ACC play, Virginia will look to build off this win back at home against Pittsburgh on Thursday at 7pm at John Paul Jones Arena. 

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