The Virginia women's basketball team will close out its exhibition schedule tonight when it plays host to the Houston Jaguars, a traveling semi-pro team, in a 7:30 matchup at University Hall.
In their first exhibition game Monday, the Cavaliers fell to the Moscow Dynamo, 84-72. Virginia overcame a 12-point first-half deficit to tie the game at 38 at the half. The Cavaliers then relinquished a short-lived 59-57 second-half lead after Moscow went on a 16-0 run with seven minutes left to pull away from Virginia. The Cavaliers were outscored 27-13 in the last seven minutes of the game and the Dynamo cruised to the 84-72 win.
Despite the loss, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan saw positives in the performances of Virginia's freshmen.
Our freshmen's play "was extremely encouraging," Ryan said.
The Virginia newcomers accounted for 43 of the team's 72 points and pulled down 31 of Virginia's 44 rebounds. Freshman forward Brandi Teamer led the Cavaliers with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. Bethany LeSueur scored 10 points and dished out a team-leading four assists for Virginia.
While Teamer, LeSueur and freshman LaTonya Blue all logged major minutes for Virginia in their college debuts, Virginia fans can expect even more minutes for Cavalier freshmen against the Jaguars.
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"I think Jocelyn [Logan-Friend] will be a good low post option and I think Lynette [O'Reggio] will come along. I think Lynette will be a great player," Ryan said.
Logan-Friend started for Virginia against Moscow and finished with six points on 1-of-5 shooting and four rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
At 6-4, O'Reggio is the tallest member of Ryan's squad. She was named county player of the year in Washington, D.C., and was a member of the Washington Post All-Metro team last year at Elizabeth Seton High School. Against the Dynamo, O'Reggio had two fouls and a turnover in less than a minute of action.
"She has to learn this is a whole different level and she's got to move a lot more," Ryan said. Monday's game "was not a good night for her because all their post players were all outside. She's a post-up-on-the-box type player, so it was a little more difficult for her."
"I think we're young," LeSueur said. "But that's going to help us out and were hoping to surprise a lot of people."
Virginia will look to even its exhibition schedule when it takes on the Jaguars on Thursday night. As opposed to the international style of Moscow, Virginia can expect a game much closer to home from the Jaguars.
"They're a totally different team," Ryan said. "They're not an international team; they'll play more like we do."
However, Ryan was quick to point out that relative familiarity doesn't equal an easy game for Virginia.
"Most of [the Jaguars] played professionally at some time, so they'll be very tough," Ryan said.
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