The Virginia women's basketball team is ready to storm the court with confidence in the season opener tonight against Mount St. Mary's. The game, which starts at 7:30 p.m. at University Hall, kicks off the first round of the preseason National Invitation Tournament.
The Cavs self-assurance comes from their exhibition wins this week against Athletes in Action, a travelling Christian team, and Uralmash, a Russian squad. Virginia coasted to victory behind sophomore center Schuye LaRue, who put up 24 points against Uralmash and 23 points against Athletes in Action.
There are particularly high expectations for this year's Cavalier team, but especially for LaRue, a preseason Naismith candidate. LaRue came in last year and made an immediate impact for the Cavs as a freshman. Now Virginia is ranked 15th in the nation, picked to finish second in the ACC.
"We want to go out and play strong every game," LaRue said. "You don't play more intense because you're ranked or you're not ranked. We want to go out and play strong basketball every game."
With a strong nucleus of returning starters, the Cavaliers expect to fare quite well in the preseason NIT. The Mountaineers, however, are not to be taken lightly. They too won both of their preseason exhibition games. Four players scored in double figures in the last of these two exhibition games.
The balanced Mount St. Mary's attack is led by Mimi Ritter, a junior guard who is eligible for the first time since transferring from Georgetown. Ritter went for 21 points in the Mountaineers' exhibition finale.
If the Cavs are able to secure a win against Mount St. Mary's, they will host the winner of Delaware and George Washington Sunday.
Without shooting guard Telisha Quarles in top shape, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan may have some concerns. Quarles was sidelined with a minor ankle injury after she hit a pair of three-pointers in four minutes of play against Uralmash. Ryan projects that once Quarles is back, the Cavs will be able to attack zone defenses.
"I know we've got good shooters, so people are going to have a tough time playing us zone," Ryan said. "When Telisha is healthy, it's going to be hard to play us zone, because we can spread it all the way around."
At this point in the season, Ryan seems to be in the process of putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together. She has all the tools she needs; it's just a matter of developing them and molding them into the finished product. The task starts tonight.
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