UVa takes on ODU in NCAA’s second round

By Jay Jenkins

Published: March 25, 2008

NORFOLK — Lyndra Littles awoke Monday around 7 a.m. — far earlier than she expected or preferred — to a chipper voice in her hotel room.
Her teammate and roommate, center Aisha Mohammed, was in the midst of relaying the details from Virginia’s easy late-night win over UC Santa Barbara in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament during an international call to her father in Nigeria.
Nearly every citizen in Mohammed’s native country will have no understanding of the magnitude of tonight’s contest at the Ted Constant Center.
In addition to a pseudo state championship, fourth-seeded Virginia (24-9) and fifth-seeded Old Dominion (30-4) meet tonight with a date in the Greensboro Regional, a trip to the Sweet Sixteen and a likely dance with top-seeded Connecticut hanging in the balance.
For the two most storied women’s programs in the commonwealth, the 31st-ever meeting rekindles history among two coaches that have accounted for 1,177 victories and brings the career of Virginia point guard Sharnee Zoll full circle.
As a rookie in 2005, Zoll traveled halfway across the country to make her NCAA Tournament debut against Old Dominion on the campus of Minnesota. Virginia won with ease, 79-57, as the point guard dished out six assists and scored 10 points.
“There are a lot of ironic things about this game [tonight],” Zoll said. “These two programs have a lot of history and I think that’s what makes this game a lot of fun. We are at their place. They played at our place last year. There is a lot of history and we are both essentially at home, which makes it a lot more fun.”
It is, however, obvious that it is anything but a “home” game for Virginia after the reaction the Cavaliers received as they charged onto the court for warm-ups Sunday just minutes after ODU advanced with an 82-62 win over 12th-seeded Liberty.
“It was kind of funny. We came out and we were getting booed,” Zoll said. “I was like, ‘We don’t even play you guys.’ There really were ODU fans booing us.”
After being shipped to the Women’s NIT the past two years, Zoll is not complaining.
“I really think it’s going to be a great environment,” she said. “That’s what you play for. You want environments like this. It is going to be a hostile crowd and we are excited and ready for it.”
A bigger question lies for Virginia: Will leading scorer Monica Wright be ready?
Wright, a sophomore, missed all 10 shots from the field and scored just six points in Virginia’s 34-point rout on Sunday over UCSB.
“I was just trying to get in a rhythm but stuff like that happens and you just have to focus on defense and rebounding,” said Wright, who had five boards and two assists and snapped a nine-game streak of scoring in double figures.
“My teammates came out and played phenomenal and when you are playing at a high intensity like that you don’t even worry about scoring. You just think about what you can do next.”
ODU, which has won a nation’s-best 25 straight at home, should present a test for Mohammed and Littles in the paint. The Monarchs blocked eight shots and won the rebounding battle by 11 against Liberty.
“They play at a high level,” Littles said. “They are very intense. They are very physical. Megan Pym is very intense herself, and I think it is going to be a good
contest down there for me and Aisha to challenge and match their intensity.”
The fact that Virginia and Old Dominion, two of the nation’s best teams in RPI, are meeting in a game in the second round “speaks volumes” in its own right for the sport, Cavaliers’ coach Debbie Ryan said.
“It is obviously a very exciting time for women’s basketball and the TV exposure has definitely helped that in a lot of ways, along with the support that the athletic departments and schools have put into women’s basketball.
“Wherever there is money, interest follows.”