The No. 24 Virginia women's basketball team relied heavily on its bench Sunday to pull out a 78-67 win over Old Dominion.
After the Lady Monarchs made their first eight shots and ran out to an early six-point lead, Cav coach Debbie Ryan changed her game plan. With the help of their reserves, the Cavaliers stayed in the game until they pulled ahead for good in the last six minutes.
Ryan disciplined sophomore center Schuye LaRue, a Naismith Player of the Year candidate, by not starting her. After entering, LaRue struggled in the first half (1-for-9 from the floor), but she redeemed herself in the second half with the 10 points, two blocks and five steals.
"I've never seen Schuye LaRue shoot the ball so well from the 3-point circle," ODU coach Wendy Larry said. "Perhaps coming off the bench inspired her in that regard."
Said Ryan: "I thought it was real interesting bringing her off the bench, because it really gave my bench a chance to play with her. Actually, they were the ones who got the lead tonight."
Sophomore Marcie Dickson, redshirt freshman Anna Crosswhite and freshman Chelsea Whitaker also were among Virginia's standout reserves. Dickson had six rebounds and brought a spark to the Cavs' otherwise uninspired first-half performance. Crosswhite played strong defense and hit two critical 3-pointers in the second half.
Whitaker, one of the Cavaliers' hopes at point guard this season, earned 25 minutes of playing time by impressing Ryan in last week's 57-56 loss at Virginia Tech. Against ODU, Whitaker scored 11 points and contributed two steals.
Whitaker "played on a scout team last week and it was a really a good thing because it made me notice her more," Ryan said. "Actually, before we went to Tech I noticed that she had really changed her demeanor and she was proving to me that she was going to be able to play with us at this level."
ODU had beaten the Cavalier women in their last two meetings, but Ryan and her players did not admit to any special preparation for the Monarchs, nor did they seem fazed by ODU's early lead.
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