The Virginia women’s basketball team saw its season reach a turning point Dec. 18, when senior forward Lyndra Littles returned from academic suspension to the team’s line-up.
Ever since, Littles has established herself as one of the most dominant players in the conference. She currently ranks second in the ACC in scoring at 20.9 points per game, only behind her teammate, junior guard Monica Wright who has averaged 21.9 points.
“It’s absolutely awesome having great players like this around you,” Wright said of Littles and senior center Aisha Mohammed, who leads the ACC in rebounding with 9.6. “I feel like it just makes your job easier when you have talented players that are willing to go the extra mile with you.”
Though Littles has brought tremendous offensive production with her, a side effect of her return has been a dwindling impact from other players on the team. The team’s average total points per game has only increased from 72.7 to 75.8 points after Littles took the court. While Wright’s average has hovered around 23 points before and after Littles’ return, the rest of the team has scored a total of nearly 20 points fewer per game than before Dec. 18.
Despite making the team’s scoring more front-loaded, Littles’ statistical impact on the Cavaliers has been enormously beneficial to the team. Not only did the team’s scoring average increase, but its winning percentage since her return rose to 85 percent, compared to 78 percent in her absence.
There have been points, however, when the team’s heavy reliance on just two players has seemed to hurt the team, such as during Virginia’s narrow loss to Florida State Jan. 23.
Wright and Littles struggled with shooting throughout the game. The Cavaliers faced a crucial possession when Wright grabbed a rebound with 30 seconds left in the game, and the team was down 73-74. Littles proceeded to take a quick and well-defended jump shot that missed, preventing Virginia from reclaiming the lead. The Cavaliers then failed to make another meaningful shot and eventually fell 80-75.
The abrupt jump shot “was probably a poor decision on my part,” Littles said. “I think the point guard was sitting in the hole so I should have realized that and maybe took it in a little closer and tried to get a layup as opposed to taking the mid-range jumper.”
Had more players had a thorough impact on the game, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan may have been more likely to trust a late-game shot to someone other than Littles and Wright, who were both well-guarded and were slumping in field goal percentage.
One Virginia player who has seen fewer opportunities to make an impact is freshman forward Chelsea Shine. Though Shine has produced an immediate effect on both offense and defense — she leads the team in blocks with 19 — her average has dropped to only 19.2 minutes per game. Before Littles’ return, Shine regularly saw at least 20 minutes of play, sometimes more than 30.
Players like Shine, freshman guard Ariana Moorer and freshman guard Whitny Edwards, who have shown moments of excellence when entrusted with the ball, are seeing less playing time and fewer opportunities making plays. In the short term, however, relying on experienced veterans seems to be paying off as Virginia continues to hold an excellent record and a strong national ranking in spite of a very tough schedule.
The question that remains for Ryan and the Cavaliers is whether the veteran-heavy approach will help or hurt the Cavaliers as they vie for postseason accolades and championships this year and in the future. For now outstanding performances from Littles, Wright and Mohammed continue propelling the Cavaliers toward national contender status.
“That’s me and [Wright’s] game,” Littles said. “We like to run and we like to get out.”
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