ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6, 2024

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton

Kymora Johnson

Virginia Cavaliers

Postgame Press Conference

Wake Forest 58, Virginia 55

Q. After the great third quarter, how did things change so drastically in the fourth quarter?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: We didn't compete. Credit to Wake Forest, they wanted it more. They played well. They have three kids on that team that understand what it takes to make a run in this tournament. And so we will be better for it next year, but we didn't play our game. Had a great game against Virginia Tech, and we didn't play well tonight.

Q. What do you tell your team after a game like this?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: It's a learning experience at this point. We're 15-15. Hopefully we'll get into some kind of postseason tournament. We're eligible. If we do, we've got to come back out and compete and want it.

I'm not exactly sure where things went wrong and why we were just not on one accord, not on the same page, but we just could not get together. We did a little bit in the third, but then we relaxed and they caught up.

We've got to keep learning and get better. Obviously the future is very bright. We fought this season to get to where we were. We have some really good wins. Hopefully the season is not over. But we're going to build off of this, learn from this experience and get better.

But it's disappointing because we know what we could have done. And regrets are really hard to live with. If we do get into a postseason tournament, then we've got to understand this feeling so that it doesn't happen again.

Q. Can you speak about Cam's game today and obviously also point guard Mo?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Yeah, I think Cam and Mo played with urgency and they tried to put the team on their back. Both of them were battling in there. But at the same time, that was probably the main game plan for Wake Forest.

I thought Wake Forest was very phenomenal defensively. They played hard. They took us out of some of our actions, and offensively they hit shots. Like I said, credit to them. They wanted it. They went and took it.

Mo tried in the second half to put the team on her back, Cam tried. So we've just got to make sure that we get on the same page early. Can't start slow. We can't have those kind of droughts. When we get up, we've got to keep the lead.

Postseason you're not going to blow anybody out like that. It's going to be a dogfight until the end, so this was a learning experience.

Q. Kymora, this was your first ACC Tournament game. What lessons do you take from this?

KYMORA JOHNSON: That's a good question. Tomorrow is not promised. I think that's the biggest thing that I'll take away from this because it's anybody's game on any given day.

Q. You were on the court in the fourth quarter; could you feel the momentum shifting rapidly or was it kind of a gradual thing?

KYMORA JOHNSON: I think it all starts with the start. We came out slow, and they hit shots, and then it kind of just went from there. Obviously we went up 15, but then we settled, and we got complacent, and they just came back.