The Virginia women's basketball team will begin its quest for a postseason title when it takes on Charlotte in the second round of the WNIT tonight at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers received a first-round bye after going 17-14 in the regular season. Virginia knows that battling in the ACC has made the team better prepared for these final games coming down the stretch.
"You have to play games where you learn how to win," junior guard Sharneé Zoll said. "If you play [in a] 40-point game you really don't learn how to win it down the stretch. You learn things about yourself and your teammates. We learned a lot about each other and about our character. We improved as individuals."
For Virginia, the WNIT may not have been its desired result, but the tournament does provide the Cavaliers with extra games and practice. Those extra sessions can pay dividends down the road, particularly with such a young team.
With talented sophomore forward Lyndra Littles earning second team All-ACC honors and freshman guard Monica Wright being selected the unanimous rookie of the year, the future appears bright for the Cavaliers.
Both superstars appear to be peaking at the right time of the year and have willed their team toward success. In the first-round ACC Tournament game against Clemson, Littles had a career-high 32 points. Wright, not to be outdone, chipped in 24 points to go with a team-high three steals en route to an 89-82 victory.
"Our defense wins games for us," Wright said. "All of our offense comes from our defense. When we get it done on defense I know I'm always going to have a good offensive game."
Charlotte (19-12) comes into the game with a convincing first-round victory over High Point, 72-45. The 49ers are led by junior guard Sabrina Gregory who averages 14.3 points per game. Charlotte has a high-paced offense and will look to speed up the pace of the game. This may actually play into Virginia's hands because some of the Cavaliers' best offense has come in transition. Zoll and Wright have successfully forced their opposition into turnovers this season and will look to do the same tonight.
"I heard Charlotte likes to run," Zoll said. "Ice up the knees for that one."
This tournament marks Virginia's 25th consecutive postseason bid, but only its fourth WNIT bid. Even more interesting is the fact that Virginia has never won more than two games in the WNIT tournament.
The Cavaliers think if they can put together a consistent effort for 40 minutes, they will have the talent to win the title and carry at least some momentum into the off-season, when Virginia coach Debbie Ryan will have six scholarships to fill.
"It is an honor [to be in the WNIT] because there are a lot of teams out there that aren't playing in the postseason, and they wish they could have done something more or better in the regular season to get into the postseason," senior forward Siedah Williams said. "As long as you can play and continue to play in the postseason, it is only going to help you in the long run."
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