Last year, in her 30th season as head coach for Virginia's women's basketball team, coach Debbie Ryan led the Cavaliers to their 25th postseason appearance under her guidance, making the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament; however, the bar will be set higher this year, and an NCAA Tournament berth is expected.
Ryan will look to her outstanding backcourt of senior point guard Sharneé Zoll and sophomore sensation Monica Wright to lead the team back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2005.
Zoll, a co-captain for the Cavaliers, earned All-ACC honors her sophomore season but suffered from injuries during her junior campaign. Despite the setbacks, Zoll still managed to lead the team and the conference in assists at 6.1 per game. She was also the team's third leading scorer with 9.6 points per game.
Zoll's importance, however, is not only measured in stats.
"It's hard to put into words," Ryan said. "Sharneé is really the heart and soul of the team. She's our leader both directionally and emotionally. She's the one that gets the most out of her teammates. She wills this team to win on many-a-night, puts us on her back and carries us, so she means everything to this team."
Wright came to Charlottesville as one of the most anticipated women's basketball recruits in quite some time, and she did more than live up to the hype. Wright averaged 15.1 points per game en route to ACC Freshman of the Year honors.
Over the summer, Wright played for the Under-19 U.S. World Championship Team in Slovakia. As captain of that squad Wright earned a gold medal and her off-season seems to have made her into a more complete player.
"She has matured as a player," Ryan said. "She has both an inside and an outside game. Her defense is extremely improved, and much more, instead of getting in foul trouble all the time, much more under control."
This year as a sophomore, Wright is expected to step into more of a leadership role.
"I think more on the leadership side, I want to help Sharneé out," Wright said. "I do want to help her out so that she can play without having to worry about other things. That is probably where my role has increased the most."
Coming off the bench will be sophomore guard Paulisha Kellum as well as junior guards Kristen London and Britnee Millner. Kellum played in every game last year and averaged 6.6 points per game. London, the daughter of University Defensive Coordinator Mike London, is a transfer from Seminole State College in Oklahoma. Millner has impressed the coaching staff during the off-season and should see an increase in playing time.
"All three of them will play a big role in the backcourt," Ryan said. "I think all three of them will be able to get lots of time because we are a run and press team, and we are going to get up and down the floor quickly. We are going to need lots of people on the floor."
Having a year under their belt together, Zoll and Wright should combine to form one of the toughest backcourts in the ACC. Both are a year older and poised to lead the Cavaliers to what would be Ryan's 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance.