With three veterans sidelined by injuries and all three freshmen seeing significant playing time, the Virginia basketball team dropped Friday's exhibition game to the Premier Players, 88-81. The Cavaliers were led by junior forward Brandi Teamer, who posted a double-double in the first half and finished the game with 35 points and 17 rebounds.
Virginia struggled on defense for most of the game, allowing the Premier Players to go on a 21-8 run in the first half. The visitors' 88 points were more than any regular season opponent scored last season. The Cavaliers scored first on a jumper by junior captain and Xavier transfer Kate Kreager, but never regained the lead.
"We never really got into a rhythm offensively and I take credit for that, because I really wanted to give everybody a chance to get their feet wet right from the start," coach Debbie Ryan said. "I really wasn't playing to win in the first half, I was playing to get a look at everybody."
Virginia made a comeback run late in the second half, but could not overcome a rough first half that included 11 turnovers and sent the Cavaliers in the locker room with an 11-point deficit.
Junior swingman LaTonya Blue, sophomore captain Tiffany Sardin and junior forward Jocelyn Logan-Friend sat out the entire contest with injuries. Both Blue, nursing a hand injury, and Sardin with a recovering ankle, are expected to return next week, while Logan-Friend continues to recover from knee surgery she underwent this summer.
The vacuum of upper-class leadership caused by injuries was filled by Teamer, who was often heard shouting instructions to teammates on the floor.
"Brandi played like a woman possessed," Ryan said.
Teamer was the main muscle behind a tough inside game for the Cavaliers, posting a team-high seventeen boards. Virginia outrebounded the Premier Player 57-40 over the course of the game, a statistic Ryan called "very important."
Another highlight for Virginia was the play of freshmen Alisa Wulff, Brenna McGuire and Siedah Williams. Wulff's practice play earned her a spot in the starting lineup, but she faced extra pressure in a game situation.
"A lot of us freshmen were extremely nervous," Wulff said. "Two of us jacked up airballs, and that usually doesn't happen, but that's just how much nerves there are."
McGuire hit nothing but net when she found herself with the ball at the buzzer, sinking a three-pointer to end the first half. Fellow freshman Williams finished the game with 10 points, making her the only Cavalier to join Teamer in double digits.
"It was a little intimidating at first, but once I got into the flow of the game I started to get more comfortable," Williams said.
Without the scoring potential of Blue and the leadership of Sardin, Virginia struggled at times to keep up with a team of former college standouts. But the Cavaliers used Friday night to establish strong presence inside and provide young players with game experience. The Cavaliers dropped an exhibition game to the Melbourne Tigers last season, but went on to win their next two games, an accomplishment Virginia will look to repeat in their season opener next week against North Carolina-Greensboro.
Read More
Live tracker: the men’s basketball offseason
By Michael Liebermann , Emory Huffman and Xander Tilock | 19 minutes agoA frenetic offseason likely awaits.
Virginia is getting ‘better and better,’ and it was all on display against Syracuse
By Michael Liebermann | 4 hours agoVirginia did almost everything right in its best performance of the season.
For Virginia softball, challenging No. 8 Florida State series comes at critical time
By Emory Huffman | 10 hours agoFlorida State is both a major challenge and an opportunity.
