The Virginia women's basketball team faces one of its toughest tests of the season as it heads to Hartford, Conn., to take on second-ranked Connecticut tonight at 7 p.m.
The Cavaliers will try to avenge last season's lopsided loss to the Huskies, a 96-60 blowout in John Paul Jones Arena.
"We talked about [last season's matchup] a little bit," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "We have to be very prepared for their running game, and we have to rebound with them. That's what they do, and that's how they beat people. They get up and down the court quickly, and they never cease to not take advantage of an opportunity to run."
Connecticut (6-0) has already recorded victories against top-10 opponents Stanford and Duke. The Huskies are one of the early season favorites to win the national championship.
Virginia (6-3) comes into the game on the rebound from a slow start. The team dropped two straight early in the year to George Washington and South Carolina. The Cavaliers, however, have won five of their last six games, including a victory against nationally ranked Texas in the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Hawaii during Thanksgiving Break.
"I'm feeling about as good as I can going up against Connecticut," Ryan said. "They're obviously a premier team in women's basketball, and they're very, very loaded with players. We match up fairly well with the starting line-up and then we'll have to see how our bench performs."
For Virginia to compete, it must perform well early in the game. Last year's matchup saw Connecticut take control with an 11-0 run early in the first half and never look back.
"It's going to be a big part of the game, just coming out with energy," senior guard Sharneé Zoll said. "We need to remember that they're a team too. We've been seeing in all sports that any team can be beaten on any day. We need to go up there with the same focus we have every day."
A big part of Virginia's defensive strategy will be slowing down freshman phenom Maya Moore. The 6-foot forward averaged 18.3 points per game in her first six collegiate games without starting a single one.
Also averaging double figures for the Huskies are sophomore center Tina Charles (13.5 ppg) and senior guard Mel Thomas (10.5 ppg).
The Cavaliers will be led by the backcourt of reigning ACC Player of the Week Monica Wright and Zoll. The sophomore guard is averaging 16.8 points per game while Zoll leads the team with 4.9 assists per game.
Junior forward Lyndra Littles and junior center Aisha Mohammed will anchor the frontcourt. Littles averages a team-best 17 points per game, while Mohammed averages 12 points to go along with 9.1 boards.
Virginia will also face its first hostile crowd of the season, which will help once the ACC season comes around and the Cavaliers travel to Duke and Maryland.
"This is going to be a great experience for my team," Ryan said. "I think my team is all excited about it, and ... it's good for them to have to deal with [the crowd] on the road and play with it."
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