Picked in the preseason to finish as low as eighth in the ACC, the Virginia women's basketball team has battled to a tie for third. The Cavaliers' conference record in the regular season was equal to that of Clemson, but because the Tigers notched wins in both contests with Virginia, the Cavaliers were awarded the fourth seed in tomorrow's tournament.
Virginia (16-11, 9-7 ACC) begins its run at a conference title against Georgia Tech (15-12, 7-9) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C. The first regular season meeting between the Cavaliers and the Yellow Jackets ended in an easy 92-61 victory for Georgia Tech. In the second clash Feb. 11, Virginia fought back from a 13-point deficit to earn an 85-79 victory. During the victory, Virginia tied the team record for 11 three-pointers in a game. Sophomore guard Anna Prillaman was a large part of the win, netting a career-high 22 points and tying the team record for three-pointers in one half with five. This time around, the Cavaliers would prefer not to have to make a comeback to get a victory.
"It's just really hard to play catch-up basketball," senior guard Telisha Quarles said.
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The Cavaliers enter this weekend's tournament riding a wave of recent successes. In its last five contests, all ACC matchups, Virginia is 5-1, including the victory over Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers' only loss during the stretch was to No. 20 North Carolina.
"Every game now is very important," head coach Debbie Ryan said. "We have to win games to make the NCAA tournament. We have to win games, period."
A large part of the Cavaliers' success this season is due to the immediate impact of a strong freshman class. Virginia has received quality contributions from freshmen Brandi Teamer, LaTonya Blue, Lynette O'Reggio and Jocelyn Logan-Friend. Teamer led the conference in rebounding, grabbing 9.1 rebounds per contest, and was seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game. She earned second-team all-ACC honors as well as being named to the conference all-freshman squad.
A starter at guard for much of the second half of the season, Blue is fifth on the team in scoring at 6.9 points per game. Logan-Friend and O'Reggio have been role players for the Cavaliers, coming off the bench to make consistent contributions.
In addition to freshman production, Virginia has enjoyed stellar play from Quarles. Joining Teamer as a second-team all-ACC selection, Quarles leads the Cavaliers in scoring with 15.5 points per game. She and Teamer are the only players to start every game this season for Virginia, and Quarles averages nearly 35 minutes per contest.
Quarles "has brought a lot more leadership to this team this year," Ryan said. "We're glad to have her in the postseason."
Ryan, in her 25th year as Virginia's coach, boasts 18 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and a 544-197 career record. During her time in Charlottesville, Ryan has averaged almost 23 wins per season, has led the team to 20 or more wins in 18 seasons and 30 or more wins twice.
The Cavaliers are peaking at the right time, but Ryan knows the path to an NCAA berth won't be an easy one.
"We've got to get more on the offensive end with players if we're going to be able to stay in games with teams like North Carolina," Ryan said. "You can't get down by 12 against a team like Carolina and expect to come back unless you really have an offensive punch."
Recent success has the Cavaliers confident, but the team is aware of the work ahead.
"It's sort of like do or die at game time," Teamer said, "We need to come out strong"
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