Nobody who filled out an NCAA women's bracket picked Virginia to be in the Sweet 16. The Cavaliers entered Tuesday's second-round game as a No. 10 seed — and they were playing a No. 2 seed Iowa team that had reached the Elite Eight in back-to-back years and returned four starters. Virginia needed two extra periods to do it, but when the buzzer sounded at the end of the second overtime, the final score was 81-77, and the Cavaliers had just completed the most improbable journey in the tournament's 44-year history.
Virginia had to win a First Four play-in game on March 19 just to earn the right to be in the 64-team bracket. No team had ever won a First Four game and then advanced as far as the Sweet 16 in the women's tournament. The closest anyone had come was a First Four team reaching the Round of 32 — which Virginia itself accomplished two years ago. Making the Sweet 16 from that starting point meant winning three consecutive elimination games in eight days, including a Round of 64 upset over No. 7 seed Marquette and now the double-overtime dismantling of Iowa.
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