Tonight's women's basketball game will pit a young Virginia team against an experienced Maryland squad in College Park, Md., at 7:30 p.m.
"This is a huge game for us," said Virginia coach Debbie Ryan. "It's little on big, young on old. They're a very veteran team and we're the exact opposite."
Although they may be opposites, the Cavaliers and the Terrapins have very similar records - both teams are 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, so it will be a tough match.
Maryland typically starts three seniors, a junior and a redshirt, while Virginia starts one senior, two sophomores and two freshmen.
Virginia's offense is led by senior guard Telisha Quarles, the Cavaliers' most experienced player, who is averaging 15.8 points per game.
The Cavaliers also will rely on their strong freshman class to come up big. Forward Brandi Teamer averages 14.8 points per game and has recorded a double-double for the past three games, bringing her season total to seven. She was awarded the ACC Rookie of the Year Award this week for the third time this season.
The Cavaliers will be without freshman guard LaTonya Blue, who has a fractured hand and will not be able to play tonight. Blue's absence may hurt Virginia, since she has averaged 9.3 points per game.
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The Terrapins biggest threat is senior guard Marche Strickland. The team's leading scorer, Strickland posts an average of 13.5 points per game. Next among Maryland's weapons is senior forward Deedee Warley, who averages 11.2 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Maryland's biggest advantage over Virginia is experience. "We match up all right [with Maryland]. It's just experience versus inexperience in most areas," Ryan said.
The Terrapins may have more experience, but the Cavaliers are coming off of a 65-51 win against Wake Forest on Jan. 13. Ryan credited the win to good defense and great scoring. Teamer and Quarles came up huge; Teamer had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Quarles added 16 points.
Maryland, meanwhile, lost to Georgia Tech 61-58 on Jan. 14. Warley led the Terps, recording a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cavaliers will need to play another strong defensive game to overcome Maryland's expertise. "We want to focus on boxing out and rebounding, and stop them from getting too many offensive rebounds," sophomore forward Anna Crosswhite said.
The team also will need to concentrate on shutting down Strickland by denying her shooting opportunities and stopping Warley's inside game.
"We want to show up and play hard because when we do that, we know we can win," Crosswhite said.
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