UVa to face Marist in NCAA first round

With three of the four regionals complete and her postseason fate in limbo, Virginia senior forward Lyndra Littles pulled the hood on her sweatshirt up to cover her ears inside Bryant Hall.
Visually, it looked as though the star was grimacing about a potential second-round showdown with vaunted Connecticut, the top team in women’s basketball.
Instead, Virginia (23-9) landed the No. 5 seed in the Trenton (N.J.) Regional and a first-round trip to Los Angeles to play 12th-seeded Marist (29-3) on Saturday at 10:30 p.m.
A victory would propel the Cavaliers into the second round against the winner of No. 4 California (25-6) and No. 13 Long Beach State (24-8).
To the Los Angeles-pod victor, however, likely comes top-ranked Connecticut.
“We mentioned that,” Littles said. “I actually kind of had a headache, but it is what it is. If it was [UConn earlier] you have to play, but it is not and if we do what we are supposed to do we will see them in the Sweet Sixteen.
“I am not worried about UConn right now.”
Virginia coach Debbie Ryan, who predicted landing in the Trenton Regional, shared the same views after earning her 23rd NCAA tournament bid.
“I knew we were going to be a five seed. I thought we would be in the West to start and I had a feeling they were going to put us in Trenton,” Ryan said. “That is where I’m from and it seems like we have a magnet to Connecticut — we always get pulled back in that direction.
“But there is a long way before you get into their territory. I am not going to worry about any of that right now because there is too much already in the first two rounds.”
Virginia landed in a regional with UConn last season, but it lost at Old Dominion in the second round in overtime.
This time, Virginia will play on a neutral court — at least in theory.
The Cavaliers and three teams selected for the pod will play this weekend at at Southern Cal’s Galen Center.
Moments after the selection show was completed, Virginia’s coaching staff promptly went to work to land film of Marist, the winner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament on March 8.
“Marist is an excellent team,” Ryan said. “[Marist coach Brian Giorgis] is a really good coach. I have seen his motion and I actually talked to one of his assistants during my last job search.
“I do know that they are a very, very structured team and they are very tough.”
Saturday’s contest will be the first meeting between Virginia and Marist.