When the Virginia women's basketball team takes the court on Saturday, it will mark their 20th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. Only Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Georgia and Old Dominion have made as many appearances in the Big Dance.
The Cavaliers are 16-13 overall and finished 9-7 in the ACC. They enter the game as the No. 8 seed in the Mideast Region, and they will take on the No. 9 seed Fighting Illini of Illinois in Knoxville at 1:30 p.m. The game will be the first action for Virginia since an 88-78 loss at the hands of North Carolina in the ACC tournament semifinals.
The Cavaliers have come together toward the end of the season. Since the start of February, Virginia has won 8 of 10, including a 69-59 regular season victory over the then No. 7 Tar Heels. Not only is the Cavaliers late season success important, but they have played top-notch competition all season and are prepared to do battle against some of the other strong teams in the tournament.
"Like anybody else, we're really primed to make a run in the tournament," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "This team has seen possibly everything they could possibly see. We've played several top ten teams this year, so I think we should be in good shape."
The key for NCAA tournament success will depend on the Cavaliers' ability to continue to play well as a team.
"As long as we play together, we should be able to do well in the tournament," sophomore guard Cherrise Graham said. "If everyone makes their shots and does their part, we should be all right."
In the ACC tournament game against the Tar Heels, Graham poured in a career-high 36 points, en route to being named to the ACC All-Tournament team.
"I just hope I can keep it up," Graham said. "My performances haven't been very consistent scoring-wise. The better I do, the better help I am to the team."
Along with Graham and her 15.2 points per game, Virginia will need strong performances from All-ACC performers Brandi Teamer and LaTonya Blue. Teamer averages 13.8 ppg and a team high 7.1 rebounds per game, while Blue adds 9.3 ppg.
Illini coach Theresa Grentz's squad is 17-11 overall and went 9-7 in Big Ten play. Sophomore forward Angelina Williams leads the team with 15.6 ppg and senior forward Cindy Dallis chips in 12.5 ppg and a team high 9.5 rpg.
The Cavaliers have a record of 2-0 in the all-time series with Illinois. In the last meeting between the schools, on Dec. 29, 1986 Virginia upset the No. 18 Illini 97-71.
If the Cavaliers can defeat Illinois, they will face the winner of the game between No. 1 seed Tennessee and No. 16 seed Alabama State. Should the Cavaliers face Tennessee in the second round, the Lady Vols will be playing on their home court.
"I think we drew a good bracket," senior guard Liz Sahin said. "We've been playing well for the last two months. I think Tennessee is the most beatable No. 1 seed because they've lost so many games. They've been losing a lot this year and we can beat them if we just go out there and play hard"
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