Zoll recalls pair of missing teammates

It hit Sharnee Zoll on Senior Day.
It pulls at coach Debbie Ryan’s heart almost daily.
The thoughts of a pair of would-be seniors that are not along for the NCAA Tournament ride were rekindled throughout the program Sunday night once it was official that the next opponent would be Old Dominion.
The last time Virginia faced ODU, two reserve guards, Takisha Granberry and Denesha Kenion, were critical pieces in Virginia’s puzzle.
Granberry and Kenion combined for 22 points, on 9-for-13 shooting, as the Cavaliers opened John Paul Jones Arena in style with a 92-72 victory.
It was the last game that Granberry or Kenion would ever play at Virginia — the pair left school for undisclosed reasons and were not eligible to return — which crushed the team’s depth.
“I probably think about them almost every day,” Ryan said. “I felt very bad about the fact that they had to leave last year. It’s just hard to think about what could’ve happened last year, even with Aisha [Mohammed’s] injury.
“This would have been their senior seasons. They are both still in touch with me and they both still stay in touch with this program.”
Zoll said she gets emotional when thinking about the two players that entered with her during her freshman year.
“I have been trying not to think about it,” she said. “But it is always going through my mind.”
Virginia, which played in the Women’s NIT the past two years, would likely have made the NCAA Tournament last season with Granberry and Kenion, Zoll predicted.
“A lot of people don’t realize what we lost,” Zoll said. “We lost two potential starters, a lot of defense and offense and even experience. They didn’t play a lot their first two years, but the practice experience, the timing, system experience … that is a lot to lose with two people.
“People don’t realize that we had to go through with that.”
Granberry is listed on West Virginia’s roster, but had to redshirt this season after transferring and will possess one year of eligibility. Kenion was not listed on a roster this season.
“They are both still Cavaliers to us,” Ryan said, “but it is something that we had to go through.”
A rooting interest
Some of Virginia’s players were shocked earlier this season when Ryan invited — and secured — a coaching counterpart at the university to address the team before an ACC game against North Carolina.
Several players jokingly asked if Ryan knew coach Al Groh.
Virginia’s football coach chuckled at that.
“I think it is reversed,” Groh said. “I have about 15 percent as many wins as Debbie has in her career. So we are really admirers of what the women’s basketball team has done over a long period of time.
“That’s what real success is, to do it over a protracted period of time.”
Virginia’s football team set an NCAA Football Bowl Championship Series record in 2007, winning five games by two points or fewer, which helped Groh earn ACC coach of the year honors.
“Debbie thought it might be worthwhile for the kids to tune into some of the experiences that might have made that team what it was,” Groh recounted. “It was really fun doing it.”
Groh, also an avid supporter of the Virginia men’s tennis team, said he has enjoyed Ryan’s 24-win season.
“It’s been fun following their progress and we’ll definitely be rooting and following their progress,” Groh said, “and we’ll definitely be rooting and following them [at ODU].”
Two members of Virginia’s 2007 football team were in attendance Sunday night. Chris Cook and Nate Lyles, a pair of defensive backs, sat several rows behind the bench and cheered throughout the contest.
Off and running
After the first-half jockeying gave Virginia a nine-point halftime lead over UC Santa Barbara, Zoll relayed a message to her teammates in the locker room.
“Sharnee made a point of emphasis when we went back in to get the lead up to 15 points by the first media [timeout],” said Virginia
forward Lyndra Littles. “I think everybody dug down and we got four stops in a row at one point and we went down and capitalized at the other end.”
After letting the Gauchos cut the lead to six on two occasions, the Cavaliers pulled away and led by 12, three shy of Zoll’s goal, at the first media timeout.
“It just went on from there,” Littles said.
The Gauchos finished with just six second-half field goals, which was aided by two baskets in garbage time.
The forgotten one
During pre-game drills for Sunday’s game, Jayna Hartig flashed her long-range prowess, nailing several 3-pointers.
But when Ryan opened the floodgates for her bench and played her entire roster, Hartig remained on the sidelines.
An early-season foot injury sidelined the second-year wing, prompting the coaching staff to seek a medical redshirt for Hartig, who will have three years of eligibility.
Watching patiently, however, has not been easy.
“It is probably more frustrating than anything else because you want to help,” Hartig said. “You are just willing everything to go right, but it’s fun and it is a really good experience.”
While Zoll and former walk-on Tara McKnight have savored every moment of their final seasons, Hartig has slowly watched the campaign develop.
“This season seems like it is taking forever,” she said, “but the fact that there is so much excitement and the fact that we are in this tournament and we are doing really well helps with that.”
Hartig, who did play in one game this season, said watching from the sidelines has helped, a fact that Mohammed mentioned after redshirting the 2006-07 season with a torn ACL.
“You can see a lot more from the bench and you learn to look for certain things,” Hartig said. “It has been really helpful to learn more about your teammates and getting to know your style of play.”
Odd matches
Kristen London could hard believe it when the pairings were announced earlier this week.
The junior guard picked Virginia over an offer from Old Dominion in the recruiting process last year after playing two years at two different junior colleges.
“I actually smirked a little bit and gave a smile like, ‘OK,’” London said.
London said she was close to taking an official visit to ODU before she made her decision and was reunited, at least temporarily, with her father, former UVa defensive coordinator Mike London.
“I was about to visit,“ she said, “but I right before I did I went ahead and committed to Virginia.”