It has been a long season for the Virginia women's basketball team. The Cavaliers have been forced to deal with suspended players, close losses and sporadic injuries to some of the team's best interior players.
Virginia will try to extend its season a little bit longer, however, as the Cavaliers head to Greensboro, N.C. for the ACC Tournament.
The women enter as the 8th seed in the tournament and will take on 9th-seeded Clemson in the first round at 3 p.m. this afternoon.
The Cavaliers can rely on the fact that they took down the Tigers only four days ago at Littlejohn Coliseum with a narrow 86-85 victory.
Senior guard Brenna McGuire had one of her better performances with a 12-point effort, including a big three pointer that kept the Tigers at bay in the game's waning moments.
"Overall, we were very mature," McGuire said. "We wanted to prove that [the loss at] Georgia Tech was a fluke. You could see team unity all over the court today. It was great that we ended the season like this."
It was also good that McGuire's season did not end with her senior day performance against Florida State. While senior guard Siedah Williams put together a double-double, McGuire never got on track. She finished with zero points in 28 minutes of play in a 79-77 loss to the Seminoles.
"I felt really bad for her," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "They [her three-point shots] were just barely off. It just wasn't her day today."
Still, McGuire has always been a threat from long range. Her 190 career three pointers place her second in school history -- behind only Tora Suber who made 220 -- earning her praise not only from Virginia fans but also from opposing coaches.
"We're big Brenna McGuire fans," Marquette coach Terri Mitchell said after an 84-76 Virginia victory. "We have an awesome respect at Marquette for the McGuire family and so we kind of cheer for her and obviously Virginia from a far because of how we feel about their family."
Marquette's support for McGuire stems from the school's history with the McGuire family. McGuire's grandfather, Al McGuire, was Marquette's basketball coach from 1946 to 1977. In honor of his services, Marquette's arena is called the Al McGuire Center and features a statue of him in front of the building.
McGuire knew a great deal of success, winning the 1977 NCAA championship against North Carolina. Now his granddaughter is trying to put together a similar type of run at the end of her collegiate career. With the help of Monica Wright, ACC rookie of the year, and sophomore Lyndra Littles, second-team All ACC member, hope remains for the Cavaliers.
"Everyone needs to come and bring their average in every aspect of the game, and they need to do it every night," junior guard Sharneé Zoll said. It's not like we have people that can make up for things. Everything that we bring needs to be there from the beginning of the game every single night."
If Virginia can defeat Clemson for a second consecutive game, the road will not get any easier. Next up on the slate will be the undefeated, No. 1 Blue Devils. It may seem impossible, but the McGuire name has always been associated with defying the odds.
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