Virginia Cavaliers
ACC (22-10, 9-7 )
The loss of China Crosby could have been a crushing blow for the Virginia women’s basketball program looking to return to the NCAA tournament after a one year absence under the direction of first-year head coach Joanne Boyle. But not so fast, as Virginia has gotten themselves in the middle of the always competitive ACC conference, securing the number six seed for the upcoming ACC Conference Tournament.
Big Wins: 11/20 vs Tennessee (69-64), 12/4 at Richmond (69-56), 12/20 James Madison (59-53)
Bad Losses: 11/25 vs Texas (53-79), 11/27 vs California (50-59), 1/5 North Carolina (73-78)
Coach: Joanne Boyle (1 season at Virginia)
Why They Can Surprise:
Joanne Boyle has gotten the most out of a limited rotation after the season ending injury to China Crosby. Outside of a blowout loss to Texas on a neutral floor in Hawaii, the Lady Wahoos have been in every game against the elite of the ACC for multiple reasons. First, they have bought into Coach Boyle’s system by playing a consistent, tough minded brand of basketball. This style of basketball has been accentuated on the defensive end where Virginia is leading the conference in scoring defense as they have made their opponents earn every point and then some for 40 minutes every night. They have senior leadership in the backcourt in Ariana Moorer and most teams that have the best chance of succeeding in the tournament are buoyed by senior leadership in the backcourt. They are battle tested having played the likes of Maryland, Duke, and Miami so if they get a good first round matchup and the right travel environment the Cavaliers can defend well enough to cause teams problems in the tournament.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The inability to shoot the basketball across the board and especially from behind the three point line is going to be a potential problem come tourney time if Virginia draws a team that is very skilled at playing zone and dares the Cavaliers to shoot to beat them from behind the three point line. Also, any team that can push the tempo consistently is going to be a challenge for Virginia in the tournament. Thus, controlling tempo like they did in beating Tennessee is going to be critical to the Cavaliers success in March.
Probable Starters:
Ariana Moorer, Senior, Guard, 14.2 ppg, 3.2 apg, 5.4 rpg
Lexie Gerson, Junior, Guard, 8.9 ppg, 2.4 apg, 3.1 spg
Ataira Franklin, Sophomore, Guard, 12.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Chelsea Shine, Senior, Forward, 8.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Simone Egwu, Junior, Center, 4.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Telia Mccall, Junior, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Jasmine Pitts, Sophomore, Forward, 4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Kelsey Wolfe, Sophomore, Guard, 2.9 ppg, 1.0 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 63.3 (145, 9)
Scoring Defense: 52.9 (19, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 38.0 (202, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 37.2 (94, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 3.7 (259, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: na
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.6 (45, 3)
Rebound Margin: -0.9 (197, 8)
Assists Per Game: 11.9 (214, 10)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.3 (23, 1)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Virginia 2011 NIT Round of 64 win over Morgan State
Virginia 2011 NIT Round of 32 win over Loyola-Maryland
Virginia 2011 NIT Regional Semifinal win over Boston College
Virginia 2011 NIT Regional Final loss to Charlotte
Virginia 2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Green Bay
Virginia 2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Marist
Virginia 2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to California
Virginia 2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over UCSB
Virginia 2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Old Dominion
Virginia 2007 NIT Second Round win over Charlotte
Virginia 2007 NIT Third Round win over South Florida
Virginia 2007 NIT Fourth Round loss to Wisconsin
*all team stats through 3/1
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
