Senior leadership is a slippery term, one bandied about with careless abandon in the world of collegiate athletics. Yesterday at University Hall, Cavalier fourth-year point guard Renee Robinson ran a clinic on senior leadership.
With the hard-fought contest with Arkansas State tied at 51 in the waning minutes, the Virginia women's basketball team needed a hero. Robinson placed the burden squarely on her 5-foot-6 frame.
Almost 39 minutes into the game, Robinson had only three points and had hit on only one of her five attempts from the floor. Who would expect her to dominate the final minute of play by scoring all six Virginia points?
"Renee just decided that she wanted to win the game," Cavalier Coach Debbie Ryan said. "That's what a senior point guard has to do for you; she's got to step up in those situations."
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Robinson's offensive outburst began inauspiciously with an air ball from behind the arc with just over a minute remaining. But she capped the possession by banking in a foul-line jumper to give Virginia a 53-51 lead.
Then, down by two, Robinson pulled Virginia back from the brink of disaster, ending a particularly disorganized Cavalier possession with an off-balance scoop shot as the shot clock neared zero.
Working with under 20 seconds, the Lady Indians knotted the score at 55 on an inside layup by Jolie McKeirnan with 7.7 seconds left and immediately called a timeout to set up their defense for the final possession.
Inside the Cavalier huddle, Robinson made her case to Ryan, who decided to give her fourth-year point guard what she was asking for.
"She really wanted the last shot, and I wasn't going to deny someone who was in my face before the timeout even started," Ryan said.
The play was simple, almost Jordan-esque. Give Renee the ball and get out of her way. Robinson brought the ball up-court and blasted towards the hoop. The shot went up, clanged off the rim and fell to the floor. Both teams' thoughts turned to overtime.
However, the baseline official had her hand raised, fist closed, to signal a foul. She ran to the scorer's table and reported the foul on Natalie Goodall, shocking the Lady Indians and handing Robinson a chance to win the game from the line with four-tenths of a second remaining.
Robinson quickly sank the first free throw and also buried the second, even though she tried to miss it on purpose. Arkansas State's last ditch heave fell well short and the debate was on. Was there a foul or not?
"I felt that I got fouled, but I didn't really think they were going to call it," Robinson said. "I just wanted to win. I refuse to lose any more games. You've got to do what it takes. If you've got to call for the ball, you've got to call for the ball.".
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