The "big dance," otherwise known as the NCAA women's basketball tournament, is what every team plays for. A berth in the tournament guarantees an opportunity to compete for the national championship. For the Virginia women's basketball team, the next few games will decide whether or not they will be able to make the NCAA tournament.
The Cavaliers are currently 13-8 overall and 2-7 in the ACC. Virginia has a tough upcoming schedule with games versus Duke and North Carolina, ranked second and first in the nation, respectively. The Cavaliers are going to have a tough road ahead if they want to get to the tournament. However, they are more than confident that they can beat the odds.
Currently, Virginia has lost its last four games. The Cavaliers are in an overall slump, especially in terms of offensive production. The team is averaging 57 points per game in their last four losses, well below their season average of 62 ppg.
Despite their current problems, junior forward Siedah Williams is confident the team can learn from their mistakes and move on.
"You would think all those losses would get us into a slump and put us down," Williams said. "However, we just have to use that to our advantage and learn from the mistakes we've made. We need to learn from our mistakes and use it in the next couple of games."
Although the Cavaliers have struggled on offense this season, the team and coaching staff believe they can turn things around. Coach Debbie Ryan, along with her assistants, has made several adjustments to help stimulate better offensive production.
"The problems have really been [with] inconsistency," assistant coach Jeff House said. "During the last six games we have had very good stretches of offense, but in each of those games we had long scoring droughts. In some of the games other teams have done things against us that have given us some tough shots."
The Cavaliers are 2-7 in the ACC, tied for last place. However, Virginia is convinced it can turn the season around. Five ACC games remain, three of which are against low-ranked teams within the ACC.
"The nice thing about where we are now is that this weekend is a great opportunity for us," House said. "If we can get one of the two games this weekend we can go from where we are now, at the bottom of the league, to the middle. So the seeding can really change in the next 10 days."
The Cavaliers are battle-tested in tournament play, as evidenced by the team's success in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament in December.
"We have tournament experience and feel prepared for the ACC tournament," House said. "A lot of teams won't want to play against us in a first round game."
Virginia is looking forward to the next few games and is eager to put the last four devastating losses behind them. Players and coaches are equally optimistic about tournament ambitions.
"I think we have a great chance [to make the tournament], just as long as we learn from our mistakes," Williams said. "We can't keep dwelling on the past -- you have to learn from what you've done."
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