A March Madness Cinderella, at last: No. 10 Virginia 'just believed,' and it's into the Sweet 16 after upset of Iowa
Paris Clark abruptly hesitated after standing to leave the press conference. The senior zeroed in on her coach with a pressing question. “Can we have these?
” she asked, pointing at the March Madness-branded nameplate tented in front of her. It’s how one knows the tiara fits. That and a team-wide sprouting of unwavering belief, despite brackets busting by the day.
“We just believed that we were going to win this game before it even started,” fourth-year head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. No. 10 Virginia stepped into the position of a historic Cinderella as the first First Four team to reach the Sweet 16, and the rare double-digit seed to advance out of the first weekend.
The Cavaliers, making their first tournament appearance since 2018, upset No. 2 Iowa, 83-75, in two overtimes on the road at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Monday. IKTR‼️ Hoos are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000.
#MarchMadness x 🎥 ESPN / @UVAWomensHoops pic. twitter. com/KC0FKXm0IN — NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 23, 2026 They were the only true upset of a chalky first round in a game that also required overtime.
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