Virginia pulls away in second half to defeat Pitt women 64-50 in first round of ACC Tournament

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Kymora Johnson scored 17 points, Latasha Lattimore collected her 11th double-double this season filling up the stat sheet and Virginia pulled away in the second half to beat Pittsburgh 64-50 on Wednesday in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

Lattimore had 12 points, 11 rebounds and career highs with six blocks and five steals for Cavaliers (17-14), who will play seventh-seeded California in the second round on Thursday. Virginia lost at home to the Golden Bears 76-70 on Feb. 20.

Breona Hurd added 15 points and Paris Clark 11, and they each scored six along with Johnson in the pivotal third quarter when Virginia outscored Pitt 22-14 and took a 12-point lead into the final quarter that remained in double figures.

Khadija Faye had 15 points and 11 rebounds for her 17th double-double this season for the 15th-seeded Panthers (13-19) after being held scoreless in the first half. MaKayla Elmore added 11 points and Marley Washenitz 10. Second-leading scorer Mikayla Johnson was sidelined early in the second quarter with an injury and didn’t score.

Virginia shot only 29% in the first half but rebounded to 59% in the second. The Cavs had 11 blocks, surpassing the program’s single-season record with 176.

Pitt never found its offense, shooting 23%, making six 3-pointers but only making 8 of 41 shots inside the arc.

Pitt had a seven-point lead early but a 19-0 run spanning the opening quarters gave Virginia the lead for good with the Cavaliers up 26-22 at halftime.

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