DURHAM, N.C.
W ho would ever think that a coach could be happy after a 17-point loss?
Although the final score says that the Cavaliers lost 86-69, Debbie Ryan's young squad can take a moral victory away with them from Cameron Indoor Stadium. Granted, a moral win won't do much in getting Virginia into the NCAA Tournament, but this game on the road against No. 6 Duke shows how far the Virginia's women's basketball team has come.
For the Cavaliers, the 2001-02 campaign was suppose to be a time of rebuilding. Not much was expected of the Cavaliers, who were predicted to finish last in the ACC.
To the delight of Cavalier fans, the freshmen that Virginia relied so heavily on have matured quickly. They have adjusted to the college pace while gelling with the returning players to propel Virginia to a 10-8 start. The Cavaliers also have received votes to be included in the top 25 polls.
But no matter how much Virginia thinks they've improved, Sunday afternoon's contest against Duke at the harsh confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium was the true barometer for the Cavaliers.
When the two schools met earlier this season, the Blue Devils ran the Cavaliers out of University Hall. Virginia had no answer for Duke's. The Devils finished the game shooting 60 percent from the field as compared to the Cavaliers 39 percent. As Duke disposed of Virginia 107-73, the Cavaliers' spot in the cellar of the ACC seemed relatively safe.
Thankfully, since then things have changed for the better for the Cavaliers. They are functioning more as a unit as everyone seems to know their role. Defensively they have improved vastly, often completely shutting down the opponents' transition game.
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In the loss at Duke the Cavaliers executed their offense crisply, getting several open looks at the basket. Unfortunately these open looks wouldn't go down as the Cavaliers shot an abysmal 27.3 percent from the field in the first half.
Virginia played solid defensively against Duke. Unfortunately, Duke is a well-oiled machine that knocked down most of its shots, while the Cavaliers, on the other hand, are a team that's just starting to come together.
The game against the conference leading Blue Devils showed how far the Cavaliers need to improve to get back to the powerhouse status to which Debbie Ryan has become accustomed. Most of the pieces seem to be there except for certain intangibles, like the confident swagger that good teams have. Many times, the Cavaliers seemed to be shaken by the hostile crowd. The team rushed several shots and made careless turnovers.
In time, the Cavaliers will develop this killer instinct and many of the open shots they had will begin to fall.
The Cavaliers are undoubtedly a vastly improved team. Several Virginia players showed a lot of hustle, giving all that they had until the final buzzer sounded. For this, the Cavaliers should hold their heads up high. Remember, it was supposed to be a hell of a lot worse.
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