IOWA CITY — The Virginia women's basketball team stunned Iowa with an 83-75 double overtime upset win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday.
The No. 2 seed Hawkeyes (27-7, 15-3 Big Ten) led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter, but failed to put away the No. 10 seed Cavaliers (22-11, 11-7 ACC) who advance to their 13th all-time Sweet 16 and first since 2000.
Iowa center Ava Heiden (5) tries to block a shot by Virginia forward Tabitha Amanze (7) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Iowa City, Iowa.
Kymora Johnson led the usurpers with 28 points, Paris Clark added 20, Romi Levy scored 13 and Caitlin Weimar added 12.
Ava Heiden led Iowa with 26, Chazadi "Chit-Chat" Wright scored 21 and Hannah Stuelke added 15 and 19 rebounds.
Here's how the upset went down:
Iowa, Virginia knotted after five minutes of play
Q1 4:48 | UVA 7, Iowa 7
People are also reading…
The Hawkeyes and Cavaliers battled to a 7-7 gridlock through the first five minutes of action with neither team finding much rhythm offensively.
Iowa shot 3-of-8 (37.5%) while Virginia went 2-of-7 (28.6%), but got to the free throw line three times early.
Of note for the Hawkeyes, sophomore center, and leading scorer, Heiden picked up two early fouls and went to the bench. Layla Hays entered for her first NCAA Tournament minutes as Heiden's replacement.
Iowa, Virginia still tied after one quarter of play
END Q1 | UVA 13, Iowa 13
The Hawkeyes had a shot to extend a 13-11 lead with eight seconds remaining in the first quarter, but Kylie Feuerbach missed the corner three.
Virginia's Clark corralled the defensive rebound and fired it ahead to Levy who tied the game in the final seconds with a fastbreak layup.
Wright led Iowa with four points. Weimar led the Cavaliers with four as well.
Virginia guard Kymora Johnson (21) celebrates after making a three-point basket during the first half against Iowa in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa women take lead amid defensive battle with Virginia
Q2 4:26 | UVA 20, Iowa 21
Iowa managed to build a one-point lead over the first five minutes of the second half, outscoring Virginia 8-7 despite a 3-of-8 start from the field.
Wright and Heiden, who re-entered the game with 6:11 remaining in the second, lead the team with six points each.
Virginia rides 8-0 run into the lead against Iowa
Q2 1:48 | UVA 28, Iowa 21
Iowa's offense continued to struggle over the next three minutes of play while Virginia's caught fire. The Cavaliers connected on a pair of three-pointers — one from Adeang Ring and the other from Johnson — to take a seven-point, 28-21 lead.
The Hawkeyes went 0-of-5 during the stretch.
Iowa ends Virginia's run, Cavs take lead into half
HALF | UVA 28, Iowa 23
Iowa ended Virginia's 8-0 run as Wright got a floater to fall with 22 seconds to play in the first half.
The Hawkeyes then managed to suffocate the Cavaliers' offense on the final possession and prevented them from getting a shot up at the buzzer.
Wright and Weimar lead all players with eight points apiece.
Ava Heiden takes over to put Iowa in front
Q3 4:47 | UVA 34, Iowa 41
The Hawkeyes erased the Virginia lead with a 7-2 run over the first two minutes of the second half, getting a three-pointer from Wright and jumpers from Hannah Stuelke and Heiden.
Then, Heiden powered an 11-2 run over the next two minutes to put Iowa ahead by seven. Taylor Stremlow sparked the run with a three-pointer at the 6:44 mark of the third quarter. Heiden added an and-one layup plus the free throw, Stuelke got a layup to go and Heiden capped the run off with another and-one.
Weimar proved the lone points for Virginia during Iowa's rally on a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 41-34.
Ava Heiden, Hannah Stuelke power Iowa to 9-point lead to begin fourth quarter
END Q3 | UVA 39, Iowa 48
Heiden finished the third quarter with 12 points while Hannah Stuelke added six points and six rebounds in the frame.
Stuelke ignited the Hawkeye crowd with a buzzer-beating layup to close out the third quarter and put Iowa ahead by nine to begin the final quarter of action.
Heiden entered the fourth quarter with 20 points to lead all players.
Virginia, Kymora Johnson ties game with under two minutes to play
Q4 1:33 | UVA 57, Iowa 57
The Cavaliers came out in the fourth quarter firing and came all the way back to tie the game at 57-57 with 2:11 to play on a Johnson three-pointer.
Virginia outscored the Hawkeyes 18-9 over the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
Iowa--Virginia headed to overtime as Wright's last-second shot comes up short
END Q4 | UVA 57, Iowa 57
Both teams got the ball in the final minute with a chance to take the lead.
Virginia's possession ended in a Sa'Myah Smith turnover via Heiden steal.
Iowa's ended at the buzzer as a turnaround, fadeaway jumper from Wright failed to find the hole.
Iowa--Virginia tied at 63 with 21 seconds left in overtime
OT 21.4 | UVA 63, Iowa 63
Dueling runs of 6-0 and 4-0 have knotted the game at 63 going into the final minute of the overtime period.
Heiden leads Iowa with four points in the extra frame. Johnson leads the Cavaliers with four of her own in overtime.
Iowa--Virginia headed to second OT as Iowa miss pair of game-winners
END OT1 | UVA 65, Iowa 65
Johnson tied the game at 65-65 with 13 seconds remaining on a layup through traffic.
Ava needs to put that offensive rebound right back up. pic.twitter.com/3tSPwGnZZZ
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) March 23, 2026
Iowa managed to get a three-pointer up from Taylor Stremlow which missed long. Heiden got the offensive rebound, but failed to get a quality look up before the buzzer.
Virginia one minute from upset win over Hawkeyes
2OT 1:00 | UVA 77, Iowa 71
A 9-0 run between the 3:38 and 1:58 marks of the second overtime put Virginia ahead 76-67.
Johnson scored four points in the surge while Weimar and Clark added two free throws each.
Virginia upsets Iowa women in round-of-32 overtime classic
FINAL/2OT | UVA 83, Iowa 75
The Cavaliers outscored Iowa 18-10 in the second overtime period to seal the upset.
Johnson scored 14 in the extra frames to lead Virginia to the stunning win and end Iowa season with 27 wins.
Virginia Women's Basketball Iowa Postgame Press Conference
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
