The Virginia women's basketball team will escape the cold weather this weekend in Charlottesville as they travel south to take on a red hot Florida State Seminole team Sunday afternoon.
The Cavaliers have now played 19 games this year but still lack that signature win to impress the NCAA committee.
Their victory against No. 17 Marquette looks impressive on paper, but came very early on in the season when Marquette was unranked.
Losses against the likes of Liberty and South Dakota State have put Virginia in the position where they still have a lot of work to do.
"Every game now is a big one," junior guard Sharnee Zoll said. "For the NCAA's and the championship, whatever it may be, every game is big. All we have to focus on is the one we have next; we just have to play every game like it's our last."
Securing a victory against Florida State will not be an east task. The Seminoles are 15-4, 4-0 ACC and have a perfect record of 7-0 at home this year. The Cavaliers, by comparison, are a disappointing 9-3.
"Especially in the ACC you have to win home games," Zoll said. "It's really tough to win away, so you have to protect your house. So far we haven't done that very well."
The Seminoles are led by senior guard Alicia Gladden whose 13.7 points per game (ppg) is 14th best in the ACC. It is her defense, however, that worries most opponents. Gladden is a two-time ACC All-Defensive team member and looks to attain that honor for a third time this year.
With the Seminoles ranking next to last in the ACC in three-pointers the Cavaliers will look to improve on an interior defense which cost them a victory against state rival Virginia Tech earlier in the week.
In the second half "We just weren't as good defensively," Ryan said. "We were really fouling too much and putting them at the line. We were not positioned correctly; we were not rebounding the ball, or boxing-out well. That was a big problem."
That problem could be exacerbated against one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the conference; the Seminoles average over 10 more rebounds than their opponents, Virginia averages slightly more than one.
Therefore, Virginia will need inspired play from sophomore forward Lyndra Littles. Against the Hokies, Littles scored well but could not play the type of defense required to insure a victory.
"When Littles has four rebounds in 33 minutes and [freshman guard] Monica Wright is leading the team in rebounds, that's not good for us," Ryan said.
Virginia will also need their senior captains to play strong. Against Virginia Tech, senior guard Brenna McGuire scored six points with only six shot attempts. Senior center Siedah Williams was able to score 10 points but also was tacked with four personal fouls. If Virginia is to win, these numbers must improve.
"We have to rally around each other, and just pick ourselves up," Zoll said. "There's no one else who's going to pick us up. It's twelve girls that we have and five coaches"
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