With fatigue being a major barrier for teams toward the end of the regular season and into the postseason, a deep bench can mean the difference between packing your bags for the tournament, and packing your gear up until next year.
With March Madness quickly approaching, the Virginia women's basketball team will look to their bench increasingly for contributions. Last night against No. 10 ACC powerhouse North Carolina, the bench players gave spectators a preview of their potentially significant role in the future of the team's season.
"Our bench knows that the starters are the starters," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "But I think [the bench] has been playing consistently. We've been spreading the minutes pretty evenly to give everyone a chance."
In the first half, the Cavalier offense was dominated by bench players, who produced 26 of 30 halftime points. Freshman center Siedah Williams was the only player to score in double figures for Virginia in the first half, netting 10 points on 5-7 shooting from the field. She finished the game 8-11 with 18 points and also added three offensive rebounds and two blocked shots.
"Siedah has been in a little bit of a slump," Ryan said. "But she came in focused tonight and poised to play, and she really helped us."
Virginia's leading scorer, junior forward Brandi Teamer, came off the bench for nine minutes against the Tar Heels. Playing in her first game following a five-game absence, she contributed five points and four rebounds. With her fifth point, Teamer reached 1,000 points for her career, becoming only the 21st Cavalier in history to achieve the mark in women's basketball.
"I knew my minutes would be limited," Teamer said. "I used whatever time I got and tried to make the best of it to match the team's intensity and give a full effort."
In addition to the 23 points delivered by Williams and Teamer, four other Virginia players came off the bench to combine for 19 points, giving the Cavaliers 42 total bench points for the game, more than half of their final total.
Backup center Deidra Chatman gave significant contributions to the Virginia offense despite playing only ten minutes. She was a perfect 3-3 from the field, contributing 10 total points and three rebounds.
Forward Anna Crosswhite was another reserve who provided an offensive boost for the Cavaliers during their second half run. Midway through the second half, the senior converted on a three-point play to tie the game and energize her teammates.
While a popular belief in college basketball is that defense wins championships, no amount of defense can make up for the likely shortcomings resulting from fatigue brought about by a short bench.
The Cavaliers will continue to look for depth in their bench for the remainder of the season, in hopes that it can continue to spark the offense and send Virginia to its 21st straight NCAA tournament appearance.
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