The Virginia women's basketball team has the skill needed for success and the Top-25 ranking to back it up, yet the Cavaliers have failed to find the teamwork or leadership required to reach their potential.
Sure, the team squeaked out an 83-76 win last night over the Richmond Spiders, but no one would have known it from talking to the sullen Debbie Ryan following the victory.
"We just aren't playing consistently within a game now," Coach Ryan said. "It's just hard for me to find five players that are ready to play every night. It's very frustrating."
Just think what she would have said if the Cavaliers had completely blown their 24-point lead. They tried their hardest to gift wrap a win for the Spiders with a few brilliant streaks sprinkled in with 31 turnovers and a lot of sloppy play.
The only thing Virginia showed on the court last night was a lack of heart. It seemed like the Cavs believed their No. 25 ranking (and they're really only tied for 25th) was enough to scare off the scrappy Richmond squad. Virginia didn't hold a lead until more than 10 minutes into the game and the team was never in sync until the start of the second half.
But the team apparently listened to Ryan at halftime and went on a 16-3 run in the first two and a half minutes of the second half to take a 20-point lead. That lead got as high as 24 with 12:17 remaining in the game before the Cavaliers fell back into their sloppy, uninspired ways of the first half. And without a true leader on the floor to pick the team up, the Cavs nearly collapsed.
"There wasn't a whole lot of leadership out there at the end of the game," Ryan said. "There was no one taking charge. People just aren't playing well enough or hard enough during games."
With no general on the court to keep the Cavs glued together, they fell apart.
"I think we played horrible tonight," Schuye LaRue said. "Right now, I'm pretty convinced that as a team, we do not know the game of basketball mentally."
Star guard Telisha Quarles, who was noticeably absent for much of the night, played only 15 minutes and finished with four points on 1-of-5 shooting. No one, including Quarles, was able to provide the leadership the team needed during the tight beginning and end of the game.
Virginia knew it might have to rely on a committee at point guard, but that system has failed to produce a leader and Ryan admitted she can't quite figure out how to solve the problem. With No. 5 Duke coming to Charlottesville Monday night, someone needs to find the glue to keep this team together - fast.
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