Cavs go west to take on Foxes

The basketballs were hibernating last week at Virginia.

Aware of the flaws with her program, Cavaliers’ coach Debbie Ryan returned to the basics.

The inability to break a press presented problems for Virginia in late-season losses to Georgia Tech and Duke, the last of which booted the team from the ACC tournament in the quarterfinal round.

With that in mind, Ryan used a training camp mentality in the days that followed the league tourney.

“The first two practices when we got back, there were no basketballs out on the court,” Virginia guard Monica Wright disclosed. “There were just cones and ladders. There were drills laid out for us to make us better.”

Virginia, the No. 5 seed in the Trenton Regional, will attempt to use the practice measures for the first time tonight as it opens play in the NCAA tournament against 12th-seeded Marist at 10:30 p.m. in Los Angeles.

As one might expect, the Cavaliers (23-9) expect to see some form of pressure from Marist. In Virginia’s last two losses, strong defensive efforts led to the team committing 47 turnovers.

“I feel like any team smart will press us,” Virginia forward Lyndra Littles said. “But I think this week, with what we did in practice, there were some very extreme and challenging situations in place to prepare us.

“It was like boot camp. We have been able to take time out and learn what you do with pressure and this is what you don’t do. You don’t go to the sidelines and you keep the ball in the middle.”

Should Virginia survive its opening-round showdown, it would advance to face the winner of today’s game between No. 4 California and No. 13 Fresno State on Monday.

While not playing on its home court, either California-based team should have a larger contingent on hand for the contest.

“That is fine and I hope they have a great fan base,” Littles said. “Our fans aren’t going to be able to come out to L.A., so it will be good to use their fans. It will be a good game if there is energy.”

Traveling across the country, Ryan said, would not be a problem.

“I already know how to do all that,” she said. “I have been all over the world with teams. I know what to tell them. It is really easy.”