With a 77-71 victory over Wake Forest Sunday, the Virginia women's basketball team concluded its regular season with its first ACC title since 1996.
"I've never won an ACC championship before," quipped freshman forward Schyue LaRue. "It feels good."
The Cavaliers struggled to find their rhythm early in the season and dropped four of their first eight games. From Dec. 20, however, the losses were few and far between as the Cavs compiled a 10-game win streak before faltering at Kent. The Cavaliers didn't allow this disappointing loss to phase them, though, and captured first place in the ACC by defeating Duke at home later in the week. A tough overtime loss at North Carolina enabled Duke and N.C. State to threaten the Cavs' title hopes, but a huge home win against the Wolfpack Feb. 20 virtually clinched the title.
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Since the Cavs led Duke in the standings by one game and won the tiebreaker over the Blue Devils, Sunday's victory was merely a formality. But the win against Wake will give Virginia confidence as they face the Deacons again Thursday in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
"We came out with nothing to lose, like we did in the beginning of the season when we were underrated," said LaRue, who led the Cavs with 18 points,
Ranked nationally behind both N.C. State and Duke, an argument could be made that the Cavs still are underrated. Virginia's unassuming style - centered around consistent team play - may be a factor in the Cavaliers' low ranking.
"We are not a dominant team," Cav Coach Debbie Ryan said. "We rely heavily on our teamwork and chemistry."
Virginia's championship-winning campaign has been led by LaRue, who has become a candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year honors. LaRue ranks among the top five in the Conference in both scoring and rebounding with 14.6 points-per-game and eight boards, respectively. She also stands first in field goal percentage at 59.2 percent and second in blocks with 1.5 swats per contest. She also led the league in double-doubles with seven.
Senior point guard Renee Robinson could garner some post-season ACC honors as well. Her Conference-leading five assists-per-game, a top-five ranking in steals and a scoring average of 9.0 points could earn her Player of the Year.
The resurrection of Svetlana Volnaya's scoring after a short slump at the end of the season also bodes well for the Cavaliers as they head into the ACC Tournament. After going five games without reaching 20 points, the junior shooting guard has hit for over 20 twice in the last four games.
The regular season title earns Virginia the top seed in the ACC tournament March 3-6 in Greensboro, N.C. If the Cavs beat Wake Forest and fifth-seeded North Carolina defeats fourth-seeded Clemson, Virginia will get a chance to exact revenge for the devastating Feb. 7 loss to the Tar Heels. Coach Ryan said she refuses to go into the tournament riding on the team's current success, but prefers a determined approach to winning.
"I don't worry about if we're playing our best basketball or not," said Ryan, who coached her 700th game on Feb. 10 against Florida Sate. "I just come out and coach them and if they're not playing their best basketball I just coach them harder."
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