With the ACC Tournament just around the corner, the Virginia women's basketball team finds itself in a must-win situation as it heads into the last two games of the season against Boston College and Georgia Tech.
The Virginia women are 3-3 in their last six games. Despite these losses, the Cavaliers have remained in fourth place in the ACC, with all four of their ACC losses this season coming from the three teams ahead of them in the conference standings.
For Virginia (20-8, 8-4 ACC) to guarantee at least a fourth seed in the tournament, which is set to begin next Thursday in Greensboro, N.C., it must win only one of its two remaining games. Earning a top-four seed is important not only because the team avoids the conference's top opponents early in the tournament, but also because the top-four teams receive a bye for the first game and do not play until Friday.
Senior guard Sharneé Zoll said having one less game can be very important for a team that has five starters averaging 25-plus minutes.
Virginia is 2-1 on neutral courts this year, defeating then-No. 21 Texas and Minnesota and losing to Hartford in Honolulu in the Rainbow Wahine Classic back in November.
"It's going to be a neutral floor we play on," coach Debbie Ryan said."I'm really looking forward to the fact that we have a chance to step up and really make a showing in the ACC Tournament."
Standing between Virginia and the first-round bye are Boston College (18-9, 6-6 ACC) and Georgia Tech (20-7, 6-6 ACC), two of the three teams tied for fifth behind Virginia in the ACC rankings. After a tough 78-70 loss to Duke last Sunday in Durham, Virginia will need to get back on the winning side of things against two solid ACC opponents.
"Well, we're pretty good at [bouncing back]," Ryan said following the Duke loss. "That's something we've been very good with all year long. I think the frustration of it is over today. We move on, we start thinking about Boston College. We can't dwell on what happened in this game."
Virginia will first defend its ACC ranking tonight against Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Cavaliers will be on the lookout for forward Stefanie Murphy, who averages 15.7 points per game, and center Carolyn Swords, who averages 13.5 points per game. While Boston College has several other consistent contributors, these freshmen are the only two team members averaging double-digit points per game.
Even though the Cavaliers and Boston College average almost the same number of rebounds per game (38.8 for Virginia and 38.5 for Boston College), Boston College has out-rebounded its opponents by an average of 8.2 per game. The Cavaliers will have to work hard under the glass because they average only 3.5 more rebounds per game than their opponents.
After Boston College, Virginia will return home to host Georgia Tech Sunday in the final game of the season and the final home game in the careers of two Cavalier seniors: Zoll and guard Tara McKnight.
The Cavaliers will have to contain an even greater offensive threat Sunday, as several Yellow Jacket players post legitimate offensive numbers. Senior forward Janie Mitchell (16.9 points per game), senior guard Chioma Nnamaka, (15.1 points per game) and freshman forward Alex Montgomery (11.4 points per game) all average double figures. Additionally, freshman guard Iasia Hemingway is averaging 9.7 points in conference play.
With both teams trying to knock Virginia out of fourth place in the ACC, the Cavaliers will have their hands full as they look to close out the season on a high note.
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