UC Santa Barbara-Virginia Preview

3/20/2008 7:56 PM

By MATT BECKER
STATS Writer

Virginia and UC Santa Barbara had been regulars in the NCAA tournament for years, but each has seen its lengthy streak of consecutive tournament appearances end recently. After a two-year absence from the NCAAs, the 24th-ranked Cavaliers and 13th-seeded Gauchos meet Sunday in Norfolk, Va.

Fourth-seeded Virginia (23-9) made 20 straight NCAA tournament appearances from 1984-2003, but this is its first trip to the NCAAs since 2005.

Senior Sharnee Zoll was a freshman on the 2005 team, and the only current member of the Cavaliers to have played in the NCAA tournament. Zoll is the ACC's all-time assist leader with 772, and knows what it will take to be successful in the NCAAs.

"We can't take possessions off," Zoll said. "Every possession is going to matter because if you lose, you're done. There is no tomorrow. That is the main thing I will preach. There has to be a sense of urgency. I have been feeling like that all year. You never know what day is going to be your last. Every game is the last of something. I don't want this to be my last game."

The Gauchos (23-7) are also back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005. They had made nine consecutive trips to the NCAAs before losing in the Big West Conference tournament championship game each of the last two years.

"I'm so happy that we got back here,'' UC Santa Barbara senior Jessica Wilson said after defeating UC Davis 74-59 in the conference title game on March 15. "It means so much because the last two years have been heartbreaking. This year, we didn't get heartbroken and I'm glad that we won.''

Wilson averages team highs of 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds, and was named the Big West player of the year and conference tournament MVP.

The Gauchos, who led the Big West in scoring at 69.5 points, have won 19 of their last 20 games after opening the season just 4-6.

The Cavaliers have also been playing much better lately, and cracked into the Top 25 for the first time on March 3.

Monica Wright led the ACC in scoring at 18.2 points, and had a career-high 31 in Virginia's 80-65 loss to No. 2 North Carolina in the semifinals of the conference tournament on March 8.

In her last five games, Wright is averaging 24.0 points on 57.0 percent shooting, including 7-of-16 from 3-point range.

"I feel like we are all peaking at the right time as a team," the 5-foot-8 sophomore said. "Everybody is picking it up and keeps on improving as the year goes along. We are definitely going to be able to peak at the right time, when we need to."

Virginia and UC Santa Barbara have split their two previous contests. In the most recent meeting on Dec. 2, 2001, the Cavaliers won 72-71.

The winner of this game faces either fifth-seeded Old Dominion or 12th-seeded Liberty on Tuesday.