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Hoo To Watch: Lexie Gerson Forgive Lexie Gerson if she gets a bit defensive this year. The redshirt fourth-year from Fort Washington, Pa., is the only player on the Virginia women's basketball roster who has been to the NCAA Tournament with the Cavaliers and has high hopes for getting Virginia back to the Big Dance in her final season in Charlottesville. And, after all, defense is her specialty. "I'm the only one who has been there, and getting back to the NCAA Tournament is on our mind every day in practice," Gerson said. "If we keep doing what we are doing, we are going to get there." Gerson was selected for the ACC's All-Defensive team in 2011‑12, a season in which she was also named UVa's top defender, leading the Cavs in total steals with 113 and steals per game at 3.1 — which ranked her among the top 15 in the nation. Gerson, who missed the entire season last year after But the next year led to the ultimate disap- undergoing hip surgery, averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 pointment. She injured her hip and was forced to rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.6 assists per game as a have surgery. Gerson sat out the entire 2012-13 third-year in 2011-12. Photo by matt riley/courtesy UVa season and watched the Wahoos struggle to a 16-14 record, including a season-ending loss to Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Now healthy, Gerson is primed to lead Virginia back to the NCAA Tournament, a destination it was accustomed to when she arrived on Grounds five years ago. "I feel very good," Gerson said. "It's been a very long process, but I'm 100 percent now. I feel great. Everything is good. Now we want to get back to being a tournament team every year. I took it for granted when I got here." While defense is what Gerson is known for, she's no slouch offensively, particularly after coming on late in that outstanding 2011-12 season. Gerson averaged 9.5 points and 2.6 assists per game that year and scored in double figures 18 times while moving into the starting lineup for the Cavs' final 24 contests. This year, she's a veteran guard on a team with five first-years, and she should shoulder more of the scoring load in the backcourt with fellow fourth-year Ataira Franklin. But in addition to steals and points, she adds intangible leadership qualities. "Because I know what it is like to be on a tournament team, I have to show every day in practice what it takes. I have a responsibility to step up and say this is not a tournament team right now, that we're not playing like a tournament team. That's definitely among my responsibilities." — Shane Mettlen i22-24.Women's Basketball Preview.indd 5 11/5/13 2:10 PM