Virginia women's basketball team heads into Durham Monday night for a rematch with No. 2 Duke. The Cavaliers dominated the then top-ranked Blue Devils throughout their first meeting at University Hall Jan. 9 but lost after Blue Devil tri-captain Alana Beard converted two free throws on a late foul call to seal a 60-59 comeback win.
Beard is the closest thing to a one-woman wrecking crew that Virginia has faced all season. The 5-foot-11 junior set a school record, scoring 41 of her team's 60 points in the first meeting. Spreading her dominance across the court, Beard also set or tied game highs in field goals made and attempted, three-point field goals, free throws made and attempted, offensive rebounds and blocks. The guard/forward from Shreveport is the most versatile player in the ACC, if not the nation, averaging a conference-leading 23.5 points per game.
Virginia plans to retaliate against Beard's attack with two players who were forced to sit out the first Duke game. Sophomores Cherisse Graham and Brandi Teamer were suspended for the contest due to a locker room altercation. Graham (14.8 ppg) and Teamer (14.1 ppg) are the team leaders in scoring, falling 8th and 10th in the ACC, respectively.
Virginia's season has thus far been mildly disappointing. Picked to finish third in the conference in a preseason poll, the Cavaliers (10-11, 4-6 ACC) have scratched their way to only one game below .500, sitting right in the middle of the ACC leaderboard at fifth.
A glance at the standings, though, does not leave you with a true impression of the effort put forth by Virginia this season, especially in three one-point losses in the first four conference games.
Virginia lost the opener at Clemson 63-62, when sophomore guard/forward Latonya Blue missed the first of two free throws with 0.7 seconds on the clock and trailing by two. After an 11 point defeat at Wake Forest, the Blue Devils' Beard personally defeated the Cavaliers -- courtesy of a controversial loose ball foul on Virginia's Karen Jaeger with under a second remaining -- giving the Naismith-candidate Beard the two shots she needed to win.
Only three days later, Virginia experienced a third heartbreaking loss at N.C. State, defeated by a 15-foot buzzer-beater from the Wolfpack's Terah James that made the final score 50-49.
The loss to Duke (21-1, 9-0) was the hardest to take because no one had played them harder all season -- the Blue Devils were a perfect 13-0 heading into Charlottesville. Virginia also was left to ponder what might have been had their two top scorers, Teamer and Graham, been on the floor.
The rematch comes at a good time for the Cavaliers, who have won two straight conference games and five of seven. It also comes at an uncertain time for Duke who, despite discarding Clemson on Thursday, lost their top AP spot to record-setting UConn after the much hyped No. 1-No. 2 match up at Cameron Indoor Arena.
"We all know that Duke is No. 2 in the country," coach Debbie Ryan said. "We're a different team than we even were [a month ago]. We played a verygood game that night, we really did, and we'll have to put together another great game just like it in order to come out victorious."
In a disturbing trend involving basketball teams at the University of Virginia, the women's team has trouble winning away from U-Hall. They are 0-5 in road ACC games and have lost nine in a row away from home. The Cavaliers have lost five straight in Durham, and 11 of the last 12 meetings overall.
"We have played well against Duke, so we know we can do it," Ryan said. "It's just a matter of putting our home personality on the court when we're away"
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