Following her emotional comments after Virginia's game against Georgia Tech on Thursday night, women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan asked several former Cavalier players to encourage the team to play together and take pride in representing the University. Ryan had tried everything else to motivate the team, but nothing else had worked. Perhaps former players who went through what this year's Cavaliers were experiencing would know what to say.
And Ryan was right; the Cavaliers clicked yesterday in their game against North Carolina.
"We've had a lot of alumni around here the last couple of days who have spoken to the team," Ryan said. "They basically talked to them about Virginia basketball and about the tradition here. I think they really took a lot of the things that were said to heart."
Former Virginia players, such as Leslie Brown, Cathy Grimes and Chrissy Reese, reminded the team of the storied history of women's basketball at Virginia - a history that includes 11 ACC regular season titles and three Final Four appearances.
"Sometimes I think the tradition here gets lost," Ryan said. "Having them tell you is just so much different from having me tell you, because it's coming from someone who played for me."
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Along with the alumni's inspirational speeches, Ryan hoped to prepare the team by focusing on rebounding and hustling drills during practice.
"We spent a lot of the time on just playing hard and learning a little bit about what Virginia basketball is all about," Ryan said.
Last night, the Cavaliers played the type of basketball their coach and fans have been waiting for against North Carolina. Led by Schuye LaRue, the Cavaliers played confidently and with overt displays of emotion.
"The one thing we talked about the most was just playing intense and having that attitude," LaRue said. "When another team comes on our home court, that is our court and we're going to defend it and go out and play with everything we have."
One memorable display of emotion came after Svetlana Volnaya blocked center Candice Sutton's shot into the stands. Volnaya pumped her fist in the air and screamed amid high fives from her teammates.
The Cavaliers took turns slapping the floor on defense and seemed to dive for every loose ball and rebound to create second chances on offense and turnovers on defense.
Following the game, the players were quick to acknowledge the effect of the speeches by former Virginia players.
"Now we play for the rest of our team and our coaches, and we play for I don't even know how many alumni," freshman guard Anna Prillaman said. "We know that they're all rooting for us and over the past few days we've all come together."
As Ryan realizes the team is still going through its "growth spurt," she believes the "dusk comes before the dawn."
With every upcoming game crucial to the future of this year's team, Ryan remains optimistic of what lies ahead.
"I think we are being prepared for whatever comes in postseason and you just have to fight for your life right now," Ryan said. " It's difficult for us right now, but I enjoy challenges like this. I kind of revel in this kind of situation."
Ryan only hopes her players will too.
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