Dawn Staley shouts out Virginia WBB during its NCAA Tournament Cinderella run
Virginia women’s basketball continued its Cinderella run through the NCAA Tournament by punching its ticket to the Sweet 16 on Monday.
The No. 10 seed Cavaliers upset No. 2 Iowa 83-75 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000. Virginia is the lone double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet 16 this year.
Head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton (aka Coach Mox) and the Cavaliers’ March Madness run started with wins over No. 10 seed Arizona State in the First Four and No. 7 Georgia in the first round.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, a star player in college for the Cavailiers, gave a shoutout to Virginia after the Gamecocks punched their own ticket to the Sweet 16 Monday night. Staley was a multi-time ACC Player of the Year and All-American at Virginia from 1988-92.
“It’s great,” Staley said. “I think the history of our program at Virginia has been Final Fours, making the Sweet 16. And we’ve been vacant in that area for a while. I’m happy Coach Mox and the crew really did something that nobody thought they could do. I’m sure they like their situation. I’m sure they like their opponent. I’m sure they’re going to try their best to make it to the Elite Eight. They got the personnel to do it.”
There’s a possibility Staley could face her alma mater in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Virginia is in the same region of the bracket as South Carolina — Sacramento Region 4 — and a potential matchup could come in the Elite 8. Virginia will play No. 3 seed TCU in the Sweet 16, while USC will play No. 4 seed Oklahoma.
This is Virginia’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018 and just the second in the last 15 years.
Virginia was a March Madness regular from the mid 1980s to the early 2000s. During Staley’s playing days, the Cavaliers advanced to four-straight Final Fours and made an appearance in the NCAA championship game.
“I’m very happy for Virginia,” Staley said. “I’ve been in really close contact with Coach Mox throughout her tenure, and I’m really happy that they made it to the Sweet 16 and they’re probably a little bit hungry for more. I don’t put anything past them continuing to win.”
