The Virginia women's basketball team had to gut it out last night against George Washington. That much is obvious from the 72-66 final score. But the final score doesn't tell the whole story: that the Cavs won without getting 'A' games from their stars.
The Cavs' big three - Schuye LaRue, Telisha Quarles and Svetlana Volnaya - combined for 32 points on the night. Most of those came in the second half on clutch shooting from Quarles. In the first half, the Cavs' three All-ACC candidates combined for seven points, with none from LaRue, who played only three minutes in the opening half because of foul trouble.
LaRue's "first two fouls were in the first two minutes," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "You just can't start the game like that if you want to be in. She's got to learn."
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Quarles and Volnaya had their problems in the first half. They shot a combined 2 for 11 from the field as well.
At the break Volnaya and Quarles had four and three points respectively.
"I was definitely trying to stay confident," Quarles said. "In the first half, I was struggling. I was getting beat on defense, and I was feeling down."
With their stars ice cold, the Cavs turned to a different trio of players, some young and some old. Chalois Lias, Marcie Dickson and Anna Prillaman found themselves in the spotlight.
Senior forward Lias came off the bench to score 11 points and grab 14 rebounds. Sophomore forward Dickson scored 11 points, and freshman guard Prillaman added nine points on three three-pointers.
Most importantly, Lias, Dickson and Prillaman did their damage in the first half, when the Cavs' stars were cold. Lias scored all of her points in the first half. Dickson scored eight of her 11 points and Prillaman six of her nine in the first half.
The Lias' first-half play was a revelation for the Cavaliers. Her line for the game was a list of numbers you'd expect from a starter: 11 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and only one turnover in 29 minutes.
Lias "was tipping things, getting her hand on a lot of shots," Ryan said. "In the first half, she blocked I don't know how many shots. She was all over the place tonight."
Prillaman's shooting was also instrumental in staking the Cavs to a 36-28 halftime lead. She sank her only two shots of the half, both from behind the arc, and pulled down four rebounds while playing turnover-free basketball.
"If I didn't shoot, she was going to take me out," Prillaman said. "When you're on the court, you've got to be a threat. Fortunately, [my shots] were falling."
Ryan said she was happy with the emergence of her less-heralded players, who picked up the slack when the Cavs' stars struggled early on.
"It's a really, really good sign." Ryan said of her newfound depth. "I know Schuye's mad that I kept her out the whole first half, but as long as we're ahead I'm not going to let her pick up her third foul."
Ryan also stressed that the close game was a good learning experience for the Cavaliers' talented youth.
"This is great experience," Ryan said. "This is a great time for a young person to get into a game and do something"
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