With only three games remaining in the regular season, a new sense of urgency has taken hold of the Virginia women's basketball team.
The Cavaliers have won four of their last five but are only 12-12 overall and are still underwater (6-7) in the ACC. If Virginia has any hope of making the NCAA tournament they will likely have to win the rest of their regular season games, including tonight's 7 p.m. matchup at Maryland (10-14 4-9 ACC).
"We are in a do-or-die situation," sophomore guard Cherrise Graham said. "If we want to get to the tournament, we have to go out there and play like we know we can play and win the rest of our games. It's real crucial. We just need to play hard and I think we can do it if we really want to go somewhere."
The Cavaliers halted a 10-game road-losing streak Saturday by squeezing out a 58-56 victory against Georgia Tech, but have not won back-to-back road games this season.
Yet, tonight will be their best chance to do just that. The Cavaliers will face a Maryland team that has gone 2-7 in it's last nine ACC games and fell to Virginia by 11 points at U-Hall in January.
In that game, the Cavaliers went into the second half tied at 34 a piece. Led by Graham's 17-second stanza points, they were able to secure a 69-58 victory. Sophomore LaTonya Blue earned her first double-double of the season in that game, scoring 12 points and pulling down a dozen rebounds.
Winning at home has been no problem for the Cavaliers, who have won six straight at U-Hall. Three of the four conference opponents Virginia has beaten at home, however, defeated the Cavaliers away from U-Hall.
Saturday's road victory against Georgia Tech, the team's first since December, may help the Cavaliers psychologically when they travel to the Comcast Center tonight. Regardless, many of the Cavaliers see themselves as a different team than the one that opened the ACC season with four straight losses.
"Early on in the season we did not survive the knockout punch teams gave us on the road," sophomore center Brandi Teamer said. "Now it's getting down to the nitty-gritty. I think we can honestly win all of our remaining games."
The Cavaliers earned a birth to the NCAA tournament for the 19th straight year last season with a 17-13 record. In order to duplicate that feat, Virginia would have to win all three of its remaining games, including a rematch against No. 6 North Carolina, as well as find a way to reach the semifinals of the ACC tournament.
Even if the Cavaliers accomplish all this, it still does not guarantee an at-large bid. The only way to ensure a 20th straight tourney appearance would be to win the ACC tournament.
"I think we have a chance to do a lot of good things before we finish the year," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "Right now we're keying on every game as it comes. Its important we win and move on to the next one."
A win tonight would put the Cavaliers over .500 for the first time since a Dec. 28 victory against No. 25 Michigan improved Virginia's record to 5-4. It would also bring the Cavaliers within a game of their next conference opponent, ACC third-place Florida State.
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