Previewing Syracuse women’s basketball’s matchup with red-hot Virginia
Virginia started the season 6-3 but has since claimed seven straight wins, including five in the ACC. The Cavaliers host Syracuse Sunday. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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As of late, it’s been hard to gauge Syracuse women’s basketball. It’s dismantled bad teams and fallen to good teams. But every so often, spurts of inconsistency emerge, most recently displayed in the Orange’s 20-point loss to Virginia Tech on Thursday.
Atlantic Coast Conference play is heightening, and SU can’t afford to enter every game unsure of what will follow. In two weeks, the Orange take on a ranked North Carolina squad, and another two weeks later is a clash with No. 10 Louisville.
First up, though, is a battle with Virginia, which has started ACC play 5-0 and comes into Sunday’s matchup on a seven-game win streak. It gives Syracuse a chance to solidify its readiness for the rest of the season, but it’s also a matchup that looks much scarier than a month ago, when UVA dropped to a modest 6-3.
Here’s everything to know about the Cavaliers (13-3, 5-0 ACC) before they host the Orange (13-3, 3-2 ACC) in the John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday:
All-time series
Syracuse leads 11-5.
Last time they played
Coming off its second ACC win of the season, Syracuse fell back down to earth on Feb. 2, 2025, when it narrowly lost to UVA 70-67. For one of few times in the campaign, the Orange entered the fourth quarter ahead, leading 58-52. But SU couldn’t hold on, as point guard Dominique Camp missed a game-tying 3 with seven seconds left.
Sophie Burrows put on a show with 22 points — her third-highest total of the season — on 4-of-8 shooting from deep. Kyra Wood chipped in 18 points, and Georgia Woolley added 11, yet it wasn’t enough to combat Latasha Lattimore’s 26 points. It also didn’t help that Camp and Izabel Varejão were SU’s only other scorers, highlighting its lack of depth.
The Cavaliers report
Under fourth-year head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, Virginia is off to its best start since 2022-23, when the Cavaliers started 13-3 before skidding to a .500 finish (15-15). Syracuse is hoping another UVA collapse starts Sunday, but signs suggest brighter days for Agugua-Hamilton’s squad; Kymora Johnson is here.
Guided by Johnson — UVA’s leading scorer the past three seasons — the Cavaliers have surged to 11 double-digit wins, 10 of which were by 20 or more points. The junior guard is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game, punctuated by a whopping 41-point performance against Winthrop on Dec. 20, 2025.
Besides Johnson, UVA has struggled to garner consistency from the rest of its offense. Just Paris Clark scores over 10 points per game (10.1), and Johnson has led the squad in scoring nine times. Where the Cavaliers do thrive, though, is at the post, where their 8.4 blocks per game rank first in the nation and their 45.1 rebounds place ninth.
How Syracuse beats Virginia
SU’s success will likely stem from outside, a part of their game the Orange haven’t called on much. Not only will Syracuse need to match Johnson’s efficiency — 38.4% from 3, three 3s per game — but Uche Izoje is facing her biggest challenge, aside from Toby Fournier and Duke.
Each time UVA scores, SU must replicate it on the other end. If it doesn’t, the Cavaliers will have no remorse and pull ahead by an insurmountable margin. Virginia’s 78.1 points per game rank 37th nationally, per HerHoopStats, and its 112.3 points per 100 possessions are 18th.
Syracuse never led by more than two points against VT and trailed by as much as 26. Making sure that doesn’t carry over to Sunday will be key for the Orange to claim their fourth ACC win and take down UVA.
Stat to know: 8.4
With Izoje leading the ACC in blocks per game (3.0) and ranking third in Division I, it’s rare to hear the Orange are at a disadvantage there. But on Sunday, they are. Virginia’s aforementioned 8.4 blocks per game rank first in the nation, steered by Tabitha Amanze, Caitlin Weimar, Breona Hurd and Romi Levy each averaging over one a contest.
The Cavaliers have swatted over 10 shots in five games this season, including their last two. Meanwhile, Izoje — who denied eight shots against SMU and seven versus Michigan — and the Orange have hit that mark three times. It’s unclear who will guard SU’s bigs, but either way, they’ll have their hands full.
Player to watch: Kymora Johnson, guard, No. 21
Johnson is the biggest threat standing between Syracuse and a road win. Her 18.3 points per game rank second in the ACC, only behind Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, and she leads the ACC in assists (6.6) and 3s per game (three).
Johnson’s been loyal to UVA since arriving, even after averaging over 15 points in each of her three years. She’s improved in nearly all categories, raising her field-goal percentage from 41.3% to 44.8% and her 3-point clip from 31.7% to 38.4%.
She has the ability to put the game in her hands, recording a massive four points and three assists in the fourth quarter of UVA’s win over SU last year. With Woolley — Johnson’s primary defender last season — gone, the 5-foot-7 guard has a chance to feast once again.
