Listless Cavs face ODU in quarters
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 24, 2008

In coach Dave Leitao’s first year at the helm, Virginia - with just seven scholarship players - had a surprisingly competitive campaign and wound up earning a bid to the NIT.

Last season, UVa won a share of the ACC regular-season championship and came within a whisker of advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

This season, Virginia finds itself one win away from the Final Four - but it’s not the Final Four that Leitao or any Wahoo fans could have possibly envisioned.

Tonight, UVa hosts Old Dominion in the quarterfinals of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

Although fans got pretty loud at the end of last week’s first-round game against Richmond at John Paul Jones Arena, there were only 4,022 of them. That was the smallest crowd ever for a men’s basketball game at JPJ.

Clearly, Wahoo Nation wasn’t alone in its ambivalence. Playing in the CBI - dubbed by one arena usher as the “Can’t Believe It” tournament - wasn’t

something that Virginia players seemed too stoked about, either.

UVa senior Adrian Joseph admitted as much.

“As a young boy, I didn’t know what the CBI was,” said Joseph, with a chuckle, “because it just came out this year.”

Against Richmond, UVa looked as excited about playing in the CBI as a vegan at a steakhouse.

The Cavaliers eked out a two-point “victory” over the Spiders, but everything about their demeanor suggested that they would have rather their season ended at the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

Until the final eight minutes of the game - when it seemed to dawn on players how embarrassing a loss to Richmond would have been -Virginia played down to its competition. Leitao used the word “listless” to describe his squad.

Tonight, it will be interesting to see if, after a five-day layoff, UVa (16-15) has any more pep to its step.

ODU (18-15) defeated Rider, 68-65, in its first-round game. The Monarchs, who beat Virginia Tech earlier this season, were led by Frank Hassell’s 14 points.

“More than anything, I think they’re balanced,” Leitao said. “They’ve got a mix of some guys who have been around for a while…and a number of young guys too who give them some energy.

“There’s not just one guy who you can just zero in on…at any point in time anybody can be dangerous.”

In the win over Richmond, Virginia bruisers Ryan Pettinella and Lars Mikalauskas barely played. Leitao went with smaller lineups because of the Spiders’ mobile big men.

“It’s my hope that we get back to a little bit more of a traditional lineup,” Leitao said. “I’d like to think [ODU] will be a little bit different team than we faced the other night.”

Gerald Lee will be one of the Wahoos’ chief concerns. The 6-foot-10, 250-pounder, who hails from Finland, leads the Monarchs in scoring (12.8) and rebounding (5.8).

“He’s always around the action,” Leitao said. “He’s definitely somebody who draws a lot of your attention. It looks like he has a pretty good touch.”

After this round of the tournament, the remaining four teams will be reseeded. Since fellow No. 1 seeds Washington and UTEP have already lost, the Cavaliers, if they continue winning, likely won’t have to play on the road until the best-of-three championship series that begins next Monday.

Following the win over Richmond, sophomore Jamil Tucker was one of the few Virginia players who was steadfast in his belief that playing in the CBI wasn’t a major letdown.

“Winning a championship is winning a championship,” Tucker said. “We’re just happy to be able to compete for something like that and be in a position like [this].”

Tonight, more of Tucker’s teammates will need to have that attitude if they want to make it to that Final Four.

Dunks

Virginia leads the all-time series 8-4. UVa won the last meeting, 87-49, in a game that took place at University Hall during the 19995-96 season. …This will be ODU’s fourth game against an ACC team this season. The Monarchs beat Virginia Tech and lost to Clemson and North Carolina.

 

Money not bottom line for Cavaliers
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
March 24, 2008

Scattershooting around the Wahoo sports community, while wondering how many fans will show up for tonight’s second-round CBI game ...

Virginia clearly took a beating at the box office for last Tuesday’s first-round CBI victory over Richmond when a smidgen more than 4,000 showed up to see the Cavaliers’ come-from-behind win over the Spiders. While the financial aspect of the postseason is important, it wasn’t the driving force behind UVa’s decision to extend the season.

The CBI requires that all host teams guarantee $60,000 in ticket sales, which is similar to what Virginia pays visiting teams (non-conference) during the regular season. Math was never this columnist’s strong point, but with tickets going for $10 (adult) and $5 (student), a crowd of 4,000 isn’t going to cover those expenses.

Financial woes?

It would seem that UVa would have to draw somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 to make it worthwhile financially, because other than the guarantee to the CBI, the host school also has expenses to cover to put on an event.

Virginia director of athletics Craig Littlepage realized this going in, but the financial aspect wasn’t the priority in electing to accept a bid to the new experimental tournament, which is trying to compete with college basketball’s oldest tournament, the NIT.

“Prior to receiving an invitation to participate in the College Basketball Invitational, we discussed our postseason possibilities and it was determined that the approach would be to pursue options for our student-athletes, particularly the seniors on the team, to have the opportunity to keep playing,” Littlepage said. “Sean Singletary, for example, showed great loyalty to the University and the program by returning to Virginia for his fourth year.

“The CBI is an opportunity for him to continue playing and extend his career ... and for some fans that don’t attend regular season games to follow him and the team.”

Virginia and Bradley (NBC 29’s sports anchor Marty Hudtloff’s alma mater) were the only two No. 1 seeds to survive the opening round of the CBI (Washington and UTEP were knocked off), so it would seem logical that if UVa beats Old Dominion (a No. 3 seed) tonight, that the Cavaliers would host a semifinal game on Wednesday evening.

Low turnout

What had to be disappointing to UVa’s athletic department was the low turnout. Virginia averaged 12,809 fans at John Paul Jones Arena this season until the Richmond game.

“Our ability to break even or produce net revenue is dependent on how many tickets are sold,” Littlepage said. “We are certainly concerned about the financial aspect of participating in the CBI, but ultimately the determination was to provide our student-athletes with the opportunity to continue playing.”

Participating teams do not receive any TV revenue from the tournament.

Time to expand

For years now, the feeling here is that the NCAA Tournament should expand.

Whether it’s by 16 teams, 32 or even 63 more, which would essentially double the size of the tournament, college basketball is ready. By doubling the size of the event, it would add only one more round, one more day and make twice as many people happy.

A first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament would mean more to student-athletes than a championship in the CBI or the NIT.

Yes, we all know that the best 65 teams in the country are not necessarily playing in the NCAAs. There are many deserving teams bumped out because of the automatic conference bids.

Ask any coach or administrator in the know and they’ll explain that there’s so much parity in today’s game and so much quality basketball being played across the country, that it makes sense to truly make the NCAA Tournament available to more players.

The NCAA claims that it is all about the student-athlete experience, so why not give more of them the opportunity they long for. Nobody dreams of playing in the NIT or the CBI.

Consider that there’s 340 Division I basketball teams compared to around 120 Division I football teams. If you add up all the postseason tournament spots, 65 to the NCAA, 32 to the NIT and 16 to the CBI, that’s still only 123 teams making the postseason, that’s just a little more than one-third.

Frankly, if it were my call, I’d double the size of the NCAA’s and do away with the NIT and CBI. That would really put the madness into March.

Dee-fense

Someone mentioned to Mike Krzyzewski that they had heard one coach after another lament that they couldn’t get their teams to buy into playing defense, and what was his opinion of those comments.

Krzyzewski, who has more than than 800 coaching victories, didn’t have to think long about an answer.

“As one ESPN analyst (obviously Bobby Knight) once said: ‘If you don’t play defense, you’re not going to play,’” Krzyzewski said. “That’s a heck of a motivator.”

The Zim

We had the chance to chat with Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta recently about his star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and what Acta expected of him this season, which will be the former Virginia standout’s third with the Nats.

“Everybody talks about the sophomore year, well I would take the sophomore year like the one that Zim had any time, especially at his age,” Acta said.

Zimmerman hit .266 last season, including 24 home runs and 91 RBI.

“He means so much to us,” Acta said. “He’s the face of our franchise, everybody knows that. The second time around last year a lot of people made the adjustment to him, but he adjusted back to them, so I’m expecting from now on he’s going to put a streak of a bunch of years of 30 home runs and 100 RBI together.”

Zimmerman is the kind of guy that any manager would love to have on his team. Acta is a big fan of the guy, as was UVa coach Brian O’Connor.

“Zim is a gamer,” Acta said. “He’s a throwback. He wants to play every day. He plays hard, he runs out every ball. He’s a better person than a baseball player, which is a lot to say when you’re as talented as he is.

“He’s a guy that everybody here, despite his age, respects and admires,” Acta said. “He treats everybody the same. It’s amazing to see a guy who is only 23 years old handle himself the way he does.”

... See ya at The Jack.


 

Diane raised voice -- and level of play
Exchange with Leitao on sideline proved to be a turning point
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE When Dave Leitao yells at him -- and the University of Virginia men's basketball coach shouts at all of his players -- Mamadi Diane's first instinct is not to return fire.

The junior swingman from Potomac, Md., speaks softly and politely most of the time. Diane was raised to respect authority figures, and verbal sparring with a coach does not come naturally to him.

But he's learning. In a recent game, Leitao recalled with a smile, he and Diane had a little "tete-?-tete there on the bench, where I was giving him some choice words, and I was very happy that he gave me a few back. I think since that point he's been aggressive, and now we're just trying to get it to the point where . . . he can continue to raise his level of play."

After starting the Cavaliers' first 21 games this season -- the last was a 31-point loss at home to Clemson -- Diane abruptly moved to the bench as Leitao sought a winning combination. Diane struggled at first with the demotion.

Most players consider starting "almost like a privilege, so to have that taken away, it was a shock for me, and I think it may have affected my play," Diane said. "But after a while, I just realized, this is the position I'm in, so the only thing I can do is go out and fight."

Diane -- pronounced Dee-on-ee -- averaged 22.3 minutes as a freshman and 27.6 as a sophomore, and he entered this season with 43 career starts. But inconsistency has held back the former DeMatha High star since he's been at U.Va. Heading into Virginia's meeting with Old Dominion tonight at John Paul Jones Arena in the College Basketball Invitational quarterfinals, Diane has scored 10 points or more in five straight games. That's the second-longest such streak in his college career.

In Virginia's 66-64 win over Richmond in the CBI's first round, Diane contributed 15 points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal in 33 minutes.

"Simplistically, the only way you have a better chance of playing consistently," Leitao said, "is if your focus is there, and I think he's more focused."

Diane (11.8 ppg) is the Wahoos' second-leading scorer. He's blocked a team-high 20 shots, and he's shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

A season ago, he averaged 9.6 points as Virginia's third option, behind guards Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, who's now playing for pay in Italy. Life without Reynolds has not been easy for Diane, a foreign affairs major whose father, from Guinea, is a business consultant and whose mother, from Congo, is a clothing designer.

"Having Sean and J.R. out there, it was basically like teams didn't even worry about me at times last year, it seemed like," Diane recalled, "so the shots I got were way more wide open and things were just so much easier."

U.Va.'s co-captains, Singletary and forward Adrian Joseph, are in the final month of their college careers. Diane and Laurynas Mikalaukas will be the team's only seniors in 2008-09.

"I think my leadership more than anything is what I'm going to have to work on, leading my teammates and being that player who gets on them and who's telling guys what to do and helping guys out," Diane said. "Not necessarily trying to be what Sean or J.R. was, but basically trying to do it in my own way"

Even if it means raising his voice occasionally.

 

Cavs not looking ahead to future
Dave Leitao still is trying to figure out which players can make an impact in the CBI tourney.
By MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
 

When Virginia takes on Old Dominion tonight in the second round of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, the Cavaliers' focus will be on the Monarchs — and nowhere else.

U.Va. coach Dave Leitao said his team isn't using its extra postseason playing time to look at lineups or answer questions heading into the 2008-09 season.

"I don't think anything we're doing, in my mind anyway, has anything to do with next year," Leitao said. "Next year is next year, and it won't start until this season ends."

Still, Cavaliers fans have gotten glimpses of what the future may hold.

They've seen junior guard Mamadi Diane, who'll be the only returner next year who averaged double digits this season, step up. Diane scored 15 points in the No. 1-seeded Cavs' 66-64 first-round CBI win against fourth seed Richmond — his fifth straight game in double figures. They've seen sophomore forward Jamil Tucker, who had 10 points against Richmond, hit big shots in key situations. They've seen freshman guard Jeff Jones flash an ability to penetrate but struggle to score.

Against Richmond last Tuesday, they saw 12 Cavs get playing time, including sophomore guard Solomon Tat, sophomore forward Jerome Meyinsse and freshman guard Mustapha Farrakhan.

But Leitao said that was more to shake off the listlessness that had his team trailing by 11 than to audition next season's starters.

"I was just looking for options," Leitao said. "I don't think I was 100 percent happy with some of the combinations that were in there."

Jones scored 15 points in Virginia's 75-72 win at Arizona in its third game of the season, but hasn't had a similar impact since. He's averaging just four points in 14 minutes a game and has committed 40 turnovers.

Leitao said such inconsistency is typical for freshman, and he remains committed to giving Jones more chances during this postseason.

"I think all of us would like to see him play better every night, but the fact that it's not happening doesn't mean I've given up on him," Leitao said.

Like the Cavaliers (16-15), the Monarchs (18-15) have veteran and young talent, led by sophomore forward Gerald Lee's13 points and six rebounds a game. Senior guard Brian Henderson is averaging nine points, while senior guard Brandon Johnson averages 7.5, freshman guard Ben Finney 7.1 and freshman guard Darius James 7.

ODU, seeded second, beat third seed Rider 66-63 in the first round of the 16-team CBI, formed by a Princeton, N.J., sports marketing firm to compete with the NIT for teams not making the 65-team NCAA field.

Tonight's winner will advance to Wednesday's semifinals. Teams will be re-seeded and games will be played at the higher seed.

The champion will be determined in a best-of-three series set for March 31, April 2 and April 4, with the first game at the higher seed, the second at the lower seed and the third, if necessary, at the higher seed.

UVa shoots for spot in CBI’s final four
By Andy Bitter
Published: March 23, 2008

Few fans — and for most of the game, few Cavaliers — appeared to have anything invested in Virginia’s opening-round matchup in the College Basketball Invitational last week.
Perhaps an opportunity to advance to the inaugural tournament’s final four will draw more interest from both parties.
The Cavaliers (16-15) host Old Dominion in the second round of the CBI at 7 tonight, nearly a week after a come-from-behind victory against Richmond.
Only 4,022 fans showed up for that game, by far the lowest attendance for a men’s contest in the two-year history of the John Paul Jones Arena. For 28 minutes neither did a listless UVa, which fell behind by 12 only to out-score the Spiders 17-3 in the final 8 1/2 minutes to pull out the win.
“If you’re going to play a basketball game, you just have to play like you normally do, whether the crowd is there or not,” UVa forward Adrian Joseph said. “As a player, you have to deal with it.”
A similar lackluster effort could mean a quick exit. The Monarchs (18-15), who beat Rider in their opening-round game, have some impressive notches on their belt this season, with wins against Virginia Tech, George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth.
ODU employs a balanced attack, with eight players averaging more than five points a game. Only 6-foot-10 forward Gerald Lee (12.8 ppg) is in double figures.
“There’s not just one guy that you can zero in on,” UVa coach Dave Leitao said. “You have to focus in on the whole team.”
That hasn’t been the case with the Cavaliers lately. Against Richmond, Sean Singletary, Mamadi Diane and Jamil Tucker combined for 43 of the team’s 66 points.
It was Diane’s fifth straight game in double figures. The junior, who started the season’s first 21 games before being relegated to the bench, has averaged 13.4 points a game since March 3.
The run comes on the heels of what Leitao termed a “tête-à-tête” the two had during one game, when the coach gave Diane a few choice words about his play.
“I was very happy that he gave me a few back,” Leitao said. “I think since that point, he’s been more aggressive.”
Diane made his first seven shots en route to an 18-point effort in UVa’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Georgia Tech. Against Richmond, he scored 10 second-half points, helping dig the Cavaliers out of a hole.
“The only way you have a better chance of playing consistently is if you’re focused,” Leitao said. “And I think he’s just a little more focused. As a result, when you get an open shot, you tend to make them more.”

 

Farrell's grand slam gives Cavs sweep over BC
From staff reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
March 24, 2008

For the third time in as many days, Virginia did it the hard way.

After falling behind in the third inning, the Cavaliers rallied and used a fifth-inning grand slam from first baseman Jeremy Farrell to upend visiting Boston College, 8-6, completing their first series sweep in league play.

Virginia (19-4, 5-4 ACC) made the most of 10 hits, including three from rookie Dan Grovatt, off three BC hurlers and moved into a third-place tie with Georgia Tech in the league’s Coastal Division.

“When you’re playing at home in the league and you have a chance to sweep in the series, you have to capitalize on it,” said UVa coach Brian O’Connor.

“Fortunately, we did. Our guys really responded.

“At some point in all three games we were behind and we were able to come back and win games.”

The Cavaliers, who scored the game’s first run, fell behind after the Eagles scored four runs off starting pitcher Andrew Carraway in the third inning.

UVa started its rally with a pair of runs in the fourth and shifted the tides with a five-run fifth fueled by Farrell’s blast off BC reliever Pat Dean.

The bases loaded were loaded and I was just looking to get a sac fly,” Farrell said. “It was a fastball and I got enough of it to get it out.”

“It was a big hit,” O’Connor said. “Jeremy had a good at-bat and drove a ball out to right-center field. He hit it really well.”

Matt Packer, who entered in the fourth for Carraway, scattered four hits over three innings of scoreless relief to record his third win of the season. Michael Schwimer recorded the final four outs of the game to earn his sixth.

The sweep was timely - Virginia dropped back-to-back weekend sets at North Carolina State and Duke to open league play.

“If you play good baseball and consistent baseball you’ll win the games you should win,” O’Connor said. “Fortunately, Farrell stepped up and Matt Packer stepped up and gave us three solid innings in the middle of the game to give us a chance to come back and win it.”

UVa returns to action Tuesday at home at 5 p.m. against VCU (5-15). O’Connor said he plans to give rookie RHP Jake Cowan (0-0, 2.35 ERA) his second career start.

“It was a big hit,” O’Connor said. “Jeremy had a good at-bat and drove a ball out to right-center field. He hit it really well.”

Matt Packer, who entered in the fourth for Carraway, scattered four hits over three innings of scoreless relief to record his third win of the season. Michael Schwimer recorded the final four outs of the game to earn his sixth.

The sweep was timely - Virginia dropped back-to-back weekend sets at North Carolina State and Duke to open league play.

“If you play good baseball and consistent baseball you’ll win the games you should win,” O’Connor said. “Fortunately, Farrell stepped up and Matt Packer stepped up and gave us three solid innings in the middle of the game to give us a chance to come back and win it.”

UVa returns to action Tuesday at home at 5 p.m. against VCU (5-15). O’Connor said he plans to give rookie RHP Jake Cowan (0-0, 2.35 ERA) his second career start.

 

Late-night Cavs march on
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 24, 2008

NORFOLK - It took until the wee hours of the night, but Virginia did its part to give basketball fans in the Commonwealth what they wanted: a de facto state women’s basketball championship game.

Virginia, after showing visible rust early from a two-week layoff, slowly pulled away to dispatch 13th-seeded UC Santa Barbara, 86-52, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

With the lopsided win, UVa (24-9) advances to face pod-host Old Dominion on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ODU upended 12th-seeded Liberty, 82-62, in Sunday’s opening contest.

“I felt like once we got into a rhythm running the ball that was sort of how we pulled away and got some separation,” said Virginia coach Debbie Ryan, “and then we were able to close the game.” Virginia, which led 39-30 at halftime after a late first-half surge, exploded in the second half using a stifling defense that limited UCSB to just six second-half field goals and an consistent offensive attack that led to endless trips to the free-throw line.

In fact, after UCSB forward Ashlee Brown hit a free throw with just over 17 minutes left to trim Virginia’s lead to seven, at 45-38, the Cavaliers went on a 16-0 run that lasted five minutes.

The game-changing scoring spree was highlighted by five points from junior Lyndra Littles and sophomore guard Paulisha Kellum’s second 3-pointer of the game.

UVa, which made 31 of 38 free-throw attempts, did not let off the throttle, pushing its advantage to 74-44 with 6:44 remaining on Kelly Hartig’s short-range jumper of the glass.

Due to the lopsided margin, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan was able to rest her starting lineup in the waning minutes and get seldom-used senior Tara McKnight a pair of 3-pointers in just her second NCAA Tournament game.

For the game, UVa was paced offensively by Littles (17 points), Aisha Mohammed (15) and Sharnee Zoll (13). Enonge Stovall, who celebrated her 21st birthday Sunday, added 10 points, five rebounds in two steals off the bench.

Mohammed and Zoll did most of their damage in the first half as the teams exchanged the early momentum.
Zoll actually pushed Virginia out to a 4-0 lead on back-to-back baskets, but UCSB answered with six unanswered points.
The Cavaliers were not able to shake the Gauchos until the final six minutes of the session - and they did it the easy way.

In fact, after Brown connected on a jumper with 6:09 left to trim Virginia’s lead to one, at 28-27, the Cavaliers scored their next eight points at the free-throw line.

Brown ended the 8-0 run with another jumper for the Gauchos with just over a minute left, but Kellum connected on her first 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to put UVa up 39-29.

“I thought the game started with UCSB really running with us and putting a lot of pressure on us defensively,” Ryan said. “We actually had to slow them down a little bit - they were penetrating extremely well, getting to the boards on us in the first half.

“We needed to just settle down in a half-court defense that was going to slow them down a little bit.”
In the opening half, UVa relied offensively on Mohammed, who scored nine before sitting the final 7:40 with two fouls, and Zoll, who scored 11 of her 13 points. Oddly enough, Zoll, the ACC’s all-time assist leader, entered the game having scored just 21 points in the Cavaliers’ previous five games.

“There is a sense of urgency in my game,” said Zoll, who had four assists and three steals. “It is great to be playing in the NCAA Tournament again, and not just for us, but for Coach Ryan who worked through a lot of adversity the last couple of years.

“We have fought through it and we are determined to keep this going and stay on this track that we are on.”
Tuesday’s contest between Virginia and Old Dominion will mark the 31st meeting in the rivalry and the first since the opening game of 2006-07 season. The Cavaliers, who are scheduled to play at ODU next season too, have won the past five games in the series.

“[Old Dominion] has all the parts, they have all the pieces so it is going to be an absolute battle,” Ryan said. “They are very athletic and they bring great athleticism off the bench.”
 

Virginia cruises to first-round win
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - 12:33 AM
By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — There's nothing like a two-year absence from the NCAA tournament to inspire a team to bring its best when it returns. Right, Virginia?

Lyndra Littles scored 17 points and the Cavaliers (24-9) used a 16-0 run early in the second half to break open their first-round game against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday night, then kept pouring it on to win 86-52 in the Greensboro regional.

"I felt like once we got into a rhythm running the ball, that's how we pulled away and got some separation," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. Her team won despite a six-point performance and 0-for-10 shooting by scoring leader Monica Wright (18.2 ppg).

Wright's numbers and the final score seemed incongruous to UCSB coach Mark French.

"If you would have told me that Wright was going to go 0-for-10 from the floor, I would have said that that was going to give us an opportunity to compete with them," French said. "They have a lot of kids, a lot of weapons that played really well."

The victory sets the Cavaliers up for a showdown with Old Dominion for state bragging rights on Tuesday night. The Lady Monarchs beat Liberty in the early game, and as Virginia's victory became apparent, most of the Lady Monarchs fans filed out.

Aisha Mohammed added 15 points and Sharnee Zoll had 13 for Virginia. The Cavaliers outscored UC Santa Barbara 31-12 from the line, and had a 47-31 rebounding edge.

Zoll, a senior and the lone Cavalier who played in their last tournament appearance three years ago, said a sense of urgency for her was a driving force.

"We've worked through a lot of adversity the last couple of years and we fought through it and were determined to keep this going and stay on this track," she said. "We knew if we kept running and running, it was going to take a toll."

The Gauchos (23-8), who won the Big West tournament for the 10th time in the past 12 years, lost for just the second time in 21 games. The Gauchos were hurt by foul trouble that largely kept Big West player of the year Jessica Wilson on the bench.

Wilson still finished with a team-leading 13 points before fouling out with 5:28 to play in what was her final college game. Ashlee Brown added 10 points.

Virginia took advantage of its size edge by attacking the basket relentlessly on offense and playing stout defense that twice held the Gauchos scoreless for stretches of 5 minutes. The second came as Virginia turned a 45-38 lead with 17 minutes left into a 61-38 margin with 12 minutes remaining, and the lead kept on growing.

"We knew that it was going to be a really physical game," Brown said.

The victory was especially sweet for Ryan, who has guided the school to 22 NCAA tournaments, an achievement matched by only five other schools. In her 31st season, Ryan also will be inducted in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June.

It was also big for Zoll, who this season broke Dawn Staley's Atlantic Coast Conference career assist record and badly wanted to get Ryan back to the tournament.

The Cavaliers trailed 19-18 before going on an 18-8 run over a span of nearly 8 minutes. The Gauchos went 5:10 without a point during that futile stretch.

No experience necessary for Virginia in win
Back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005, Virginia routs UC Santa Barbara.
By MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
March 24, 2008
 

NORFOLK - Sharnee Zoll hadn't been here in three seasons, and she wasn't planning to leave early.

Zoll, Virginia's senior point guard, scored 13 points as the Cavaliers beat UC Santa Barbara 86-52 in the tournament's first round at the Constant Center on Sunday night, ending the Gauchos' five-game win streak.

"More importantly than being in the NCAA tournament, this is my last year," Zoll said.

"If I lose or we lose, there's no more for me as a Virginia Cavalier. There's definitely a sense of urgency in my game."

Santa Barbara (23-8) had won 19 of its last 20 outings coming into the game and hung tough early, but the Cavaliers (24-9) opened up a 20-point lead 7 minutes into the second half to book a second-round meeting with Old Dominion at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Junior forward Lyndra Littles settled down after a nervous start to lead U.Va. with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while junior center Aisha Mohammed — who missed last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament — had 15 points and seven boards.

The Cavaliers went to 20 straight NCAA tournaments from 1984-2003 but haven't been back since 2005, when they lost to Minnesota in the second round after beating ODU in the first.

Zoll and senior reserve Tara McKnight were the only Cavaliers with any NCAA experience coming into Sunday night's game, and Zoll made an instant impact, scoring Virginia's first two buckets as part of her 11 first-half points.

Santa Barbara put up a tough fight for most of the first half, trailing by just one with 6:05 to play. But the Gauchos' scoring drought of more than five minutes enabled the Cavaliers to stretch their lead to 10 on Paulisha Kellum's 3-pointer before a free throw cut it to 39-30 at halftime.

"I thought the game started off with UCSB really running with us and putting a lot of pressure on us defensively," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "We actually had to slow them down a little bit. They were penetrating extremely well and getting to the boards on us in the first half."

U.Va. went back up by 10 at 48-38 on a pair of free throws from Littles with 16:22 to play in the game, then took a 12-point lead when Littles followed Monica Wright's missed fastbreak layup 30 seconds later.

Wright, leading Virginia and the Atlantic Coast Conference with 18.2 points per game, had just four points in the first half, all coming from the free-throw line. She finished with six, her lowest output since scoring four Nov. 12 against George Washington.

Littles opened the game by misfiring badly on two shots before scoring all five of her first-half points in a 1-minute stretch midway through the period.

Enonge Stovall, who gave the Cavs an early boost with her scoring and rebounding, completed a three-point play after being fouled on her basket in the paint to put Virginia up 54-38 with 14:37 left. Mohammed then made two free throws to give the Cavs an 18-point lead.

Kellum's 3-pointer with 13:10 made Virginia's margin even more comfortable at 59-38. Littles then drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put Virginia up 68-42 with 10 minutes to play.

Stovall came off the bench to score back-to-back baskets to help turn an early 12-9 deficit into a three-point lead for the Cavs.

But UCSB kept answering, and Ashlee Brown's baseline jumper brought the Gauchos within 28-27 with 6:05 to play in the first half.

Those were the last points, though, that Santa Barbara would score until Brown's jumper with 58 seconds left in the half.



 

Hornets' Hunter aligns with Cavs
Orange's Quintin Hunter will play for Virginia
Date published: 3/23/2008
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

A chance to play close to home and some prodding from a new friend was all it took for Quintin Hunter to choose Virginia.

The Orange High School standout junior quarterback orally committed to the Cavaliers yesterday, selecting them over Virginia Tech, Maryland, West Virginia and Stanford, which also came through with full scholarship offers.

Hunter is the second Fredericksburg-area player in the Class of 2009 to commit to the Cavaliers, joining Chancellor star running back Dominique Wallace, who pledged to Virginia last month.

Wallace did his best to bring Hunter to the Cavaliers, too.

"I've been talking to him for a while," Wallace said. "I've been trying to get him to go [to Virginia] since I committed. I've been talking to a lot of people."

Hunter is the Cavaliers' fourth commitment overall and third from Virginia after they welcomed just one top player from the state in the Class of 2008.

Hunter is listed as an "athlete," meaning he could play multiple positions in college. He's rated a four-star prospect by recruiting Web site rivals.com.

His mother, Sheila Hunter, said Virginia is "a wise decision."

She said the close proximity to home will allow her and his father to attend games without changing their work schedule.

"I'm very happy for him--very happy," Sheila Hunter said. "It was very hard for him. He liked [Virginia and Virginia Tech]. But he made the decision based on us. We work so much, he wanted to make sure we could get there to see him play. I think he made a good choice on his behalf and our behalf."

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Hunter was a Free Lance-Star All-Area selection at quarterback this past season. He threw for 2,065 yards and 18 touchdowns while running for 846 yards and 12 scores. He was also an all-Group AA defensive back.

"All these colleges recruited him as an athlete, but they've started talking the language of quarterback to him," said Orange offensive coordinator Jesse Lohr, who handles the bulk of the recruiting at the school. "I think Virginia is going to give him every opportunity to pursue that, and if it doesn't work out, he'll move to wide receiver. He's an offensive guy."

Hunter played wide receiver for Orange for two years before former star quarterback Bradley Starks graduated and headed to West Virginia.

The Mountaineers, among others, wanted Hunter as well, but it may have been hard to resist Wallace's persuasion.

"I was just trying to be his friend," Wallace said. "I just let him know that if he came to Virginia, he'd already have friends."