The Virginia women's basketball team (15-10, 3-9 ACC) is taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-12, 2-10 ACC) in their penultimate game at University Hall tonight at 7 p.m. The Cavaliers are still looking for their first home victory against an ACC opponent, and this game looks to be a great opportunity. The Cavaliers are coming off a two-game winning streak after defeating Longwood and Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech has been struggling as of late. The Yellow Jackets are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and are 0-5 on the road in ACC play.
The Cavaliers seem to be peaking late this season. This is undoubtedly due to the slow maturation process of the nation's sixth youngest team, with nine freshmen and sophomores.
"We've had to mature," assistant coach Jeff House said. "The maturity of these young players will come and go when you're in tough places. We've matured a great deal and we still have a ways to go but we're peaking at the right time."
The right time is indeed now. With an opportunity to finish the season on a four-game winning streak heading into the ACC tournament (March 2-5), the Cavaliers are poised to make a deep run in postseason play.
"We can finish as high as seventh or eighth and then we would be playing either Miami or N.C. State," House said. "If we can build on some of the things we've done well the last couple of games and get some momentum going for the ACC tournament, then we will feel confident about our chances."
The late season run can be credited to the explosion in offense exhibited by the Cavaliers. In their last two games Virginia has averaged 87 points, bettering their season average by 19 points.
"I attribute that to being more focused and executing plays," senior Tiffany Sardin said. "We've been able to finish shots better and we've had a little bit more focus. It's all about focusing and getting ourselves in position to execute plays."
If the Cavaliers can maintain this level of offensive execution coupled with good defense and team rebounding, the Cavaliers should handle the struggling Yellow Jackets and notch their first ACC home victory. Right now, the team is feeling confident and a win tomorrow would only heighten these sentiments and bring the near-ending regular season to a positive close.
"It's late in the season now and we've learned a lot and we've matured a little bit," Sardin said. "We're ready to finish the season out strong."
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