The Virginia women's basketball team lost a lot when Schuye LaRue left the program after her standout sophomore campaign. Her 11.8 rebounds per game and conference leading 22 double-doubles certainly leave some big Nikes to fill. But things are looking up down low for Virginia as several Cavaliers stepped up to rebound the ball with authority in Virginia's 76-51 win over Howard.
For the game, Virginia out-rebounded the Bison by a staggering 61-39 margin. Nineteen of the Cavaliers' boards came on the offensive end. This outstanding effort, especially on the offensive glass, was instrumental in the Cavaliers' win.
Offensive rebounds are very important, especially when they lead to second-chance points. At one point in the first half, sophomore Anna Prillaman missed a three-pointer and senior Telisha Quarles grabbed the rebound and eventually drained a three of her own. On the very next Cavaliers' offensive sequence, freshman Lynette O'Reggio rebounded a Quarles miss and put it back to put Virginia up 36-19. Second chances like these demoralized Howard all night long.
"Players came in saying they were going to [each] do certain things on the boards and they each lived up to that," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "I don't think Lynette said anything though."
O'Reggio had been a non-factor in the Cavaliers' first four games. O'Reggio was named Ms. Basketball for the Washington, D.C., area last season at Elizabeth Seton High School, but before last night, she certainly had not lived up to the hype.
Last night, O'Reggio showed sparks of greatness as she totaled 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in her 19 minutes on the court. Virginia established O'Reggio early by feeding her down low. When Howard started to press, O'Reggio did her job by finishing off scoring chances after Virginia made short work of the Bisons' pressure.
"I've been working hard, trying to improve," O'Reggio said.
It is important that O'Reggio continues to perform at this level if Virginia is to have any hopes of building on yesterday's win. As Virginia's biggest player at 6-foot-4, O'Reggio is the best Cavalier suited to fill the center spot.
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Even though O'Reggio had a career night, there still is much the freshman needs to improve on. Although it is true that she established herself as an offensive presence, her defensive performance left much to be desired. She allowed the smaller Howard center, 6-3 Andrea Gardner, to score a team-high 14 points. At times, O'Reggio seemed lost and confused and was also very lethargic, showing very little hustle up and down the court.
But on the other end of the aggressiveness scale, Bethany LeSueur and LaTonya Blue give Ryan something she hasn't had in a while: guards who can rebound with authority. In her 21 minutes off of the bench, LeSueur pulled down nine rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass.
Blue was even more aggressive for Virginia. She notched another double-double, finishing with 13 points and snatching 12 rebounds. The 5-9 guard was not to be denied down low against the Bison. At one point late in the second half, she snatched a rebound away from both Gardner and 6-2 Howard forward Shauna Ruglass.
"Blue is such a strong rebounder and if Lynette is going to get boards it will help us out when we need to take Brandi out of the game," Ryan said.
But the most likely candidate to replace LaRue is freshman Brandi Teamer, who has been the best player for Ryan's squad this season. Teamer was named ACC rookie of the week for the first week of the season and is averaging 12.8 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game. Against Howard, Teamer faced double and triple coverage all night long, which limited her to just seven points, her second lowest output of the season. She did manage to pull down 11 rebounds, dish out five assists and block two shots. Teamer is well on her way to filling LaRue's big Nikes and becoming the low-post presence that the Cavaliers need to be successful.
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