The Virginia women's basketball will travel to Atlanta tonight to take on rival Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers' playoff hopes are still alive, but depend heavily on a strong conclusion to their 12-10 season. At 5-5 in the ACC, Virginia looks to ensure its 21st consecutive NCAA tournament bid. Tip-off time for this vital ACC match-up is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Virginia is presently riding high on a three-game winning streak, having defeated Georgetown, Maryland and Wake Forest. Before these three victories, the Cavaliers valiantly fought No. 15 North Carolina before falling to the Tar Heels 75-70. The Carolina game reintroduced junior forward Brandi Teamer to the line-up following a five game suspension. She scored her 1,000th career point in U-Hall during the match-up.
Teamer is Virginia's leading scorer, at 11.8 points per game, and the only Cavalier averaging double-digits. Against Georgetown, Teamer recorded 10 second half points to lead Virginia to a 52-45 come-from-behind victory. LaTonya Blue was close behind Teamer with nine points.
"I think this win is really big," Blue said after the Georgetown game. "G-town has played some tough teams -- some ranked teams. I think winning this afternoon will help us with an NCAA bid."
Though they are out of playoff contention with a 2-8 ACC record, the Yellow Jackets will look to stifle the progress of the Cavaliers. The 11-11 Georgia Tech squad features stand-out forward Fallon Stokes, who is averaging 17.2 points per game. With freshman coach MaChelle Joseph at the helm, the Yellow Jackets are coming off a 40 point battering by No. 4 Duke.
With six ACC games remaining, the Cavaliers look to recreate their end-of-season heroics of last year when they wrapped up ACC play with a 7-1 run. Two of these final six games, however, come against top 25 teams in Duke and Carolina. Presently, Virginia is ranked 4th in the ACC behind Duke, Carolina and Maryland. In the nine-team conference, however, there are five teams within one victory of each other. Virginia is one of the teams vying for position. Veteran coach Debbie Ryan said that in order to move up in the standings, the Cavaliers must learn to put together two quarters of solid play.
"We have to have a little better start in certain positions," Ryan said. "Our post players have to start better, our point guards have to start better and we can't turn over the ball."
Following Thursday's road trip, Virginia will return to action at U-Hall against N.C. State. The Cavaliers will host the Wolfpack Feb. 15 at 1 p.m.
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