NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show is Around the Corner

Story Links

March 5, 1998

NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show- Sunday, March 8, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Quick Notes on Virginia

Virginia is ranked 18th in both the AP and USA Today polls.

Of the five ranked teams in the ACC, Virginia is ranked secondin strength of schedule. Duke is first (12), followed by Virginia (16),N.C. State (27), North Carolina (47) and Clemson (81).

The Cavaliers posted wins over four teams that won theirconference tournament and received an automatic NCAA Tournament bid–Kent(Mid-American champions), Virginia Tech (Atlantic-10 champions), NorthCarolina (ACC champions) and Santa Clara (West Coast Conference champions).And if the winner of the Northeast Conference is St. Francis or Mt. St.Mary’s, the number could be five.

Seven of the team’s nine losses were to a team in the Top 25,and two of those games went into overtime. Virginia upset seventh-rankedNorth Carolina 105-100 in triple overtime on Jan. 15 in Chapel Hill, butlost to the fifth-ranked Tar Heels 84-85 in double overtime on Feb. 15 inCharlottesville. Virginia took 11th-ranked Duke to overtime before falling78-85 on Feb. 22.

The Cavaliers entered the season with senior guards andpotential starters Monick Foote and Tiffany Bower sidelined for the entirecampaign. The pair accounted for 21.1 points per game last season.

Virginia has been to the NCAA Tournament 14 straight years andis 26-14 in tournament action. The Cavaliers have opened the NCAATournament at home every year since 1986. Virginia is 18-2 at home and 8-12on the road in the big dance.

Head Coach Debbie Ryan recorded her 200th ACC win with thevictory over Wake Forest on Feb. 18. She became the first conference coachto reach that milestone.

DeMya Walker was named to the All-ACC Team first team whileMimi McKinney was named to the second team. Erin Stovall was named to theAll-Freshman team.

DeMya Walker leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding(8.4 rpg). Mimi McKinney ranks second on the team in scoring (15.1 ppg),but leads the team in assists (3.8 apg) and steals (2.1 spg). Erin Stovallranks third on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg) and second in steals (2.0 spg).

In all games this season, the Cavaliers are 10-3 at home, 8-4 onthe road and 0-2 at a neutral sites. In ACC games, Virginia is 5-3 at home,4-4 on the road.

Virginia is 2-7 vs. ranked opponents this season. Againstranked opponents, Mimi McKinney is averaging 17.3 ppg and DeMya Walker isaveraging 15.4 ppg.

DeMya Walker needs just two blocks to move into third place inthe all-time ACC standings in blocked shots. She already holds all ofUVa’s records for blocked shots.

The Cavaliers are 11-2 when they out-rebound their opponent.Both losses came at the hands of North Carolina. Virginia is 6-7 when theopponent controls the boards and 1-0 when the rebounds are even.

Virginia Tournament History

Virginia has made 14 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournamentand the 11 straight trips to the Sweet Sixteen

Overall:                 26-14  Home:                    18-2   Away:                     0-3  Neutral:                  8-9   First round:              4-3Second Round:            11-0Regional Semifinals:     7-4 (Sweet Sixteen)Regional Finals:          3-4 (Elite Eight)Final Four Semifinals:    1-2Final Four Championship:  0-1

Head Coach Debbie Ryan

Head Coach Debbie Ryan, in her 21st season, brings a career recordof 480-164 (.745) into today’s game. Ryan is the ACC leader in conferencewins (200) and winning percentage. She became the first ACC coach to win200 games in conference action.

‘Hoos Hot

DeMya Walker is averaging 21.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.0 blocksin the last four games of the regular season. In that span, she had threeconsecutive games with 20 or more points to become only the second playeron the current roster to accomplish that feat. The other player to score20 or more points is Kate Mooney who had three-20+ games earlier thisseason.

Walker is shooting .571 from the field (36-63) and .684 from thecharity stripe (13-19) over the last four games. She had a double-double(20p-14r) vs. N. C. State on Feb. 12 and followed that with a 24-pointperformance vs. North Carolina on Feb. 15, 23 points vs. Wake Forest onFeb. 18 and 18 points vs. Duke on Feb. 22.

Bench Pressed Into Action

The Virginia bench has contributed 21.9 points per game this seasonand the players coming in off the pine have been major factors in theteam’s success this season. Erin Stovall, who ranks third on the team inscoring, gained a starting position when Renee Robinson suffered aconcussion in the Old Dominion game on Jan. 27. Even when Robinson wascleared to play, Stovall did not relinquish her starting role and Robinsonthen became the sixth man.

The reserves scored an amazing 50 points in the Cavalier’s winover Maryland on Jan. 8.

Lesley Brown scored acareer-high 21 points on Dec. 28 in place of foul-plagued DeMya Walker.She scored 20 vs. Duke on Jan. 23 when Walker again was in foul trouble.Lisa Hosac scored 19 points in a reserve role vs. North Carolinaon Feb. 15.

In the last four games, the Virginia reserves have averaged 22.3points per game.

Erin Stovall averages 10.4 ppg as a reserve and 7.2 as a starter.

Series Records Vs. ACC OpponentsOpponent       Series  This SeasonClemson         24-21     1-1Duke            31-7      0-2Florida State   16-0      2-0Georgia Tech    39-4      1-1Maryland        29-20     2-0North Carolina  27-23     1-2N.C. State      23-23     0-2Wake Forest     41-1      2-0

Guarded Condition

Head Coach Debbie Ryan is a strong candidate for ACC Coach of theYear after beginning the season with two starting guards falling toseason-ending injuries and all but two of the remaining guards sufferinginjuries that have kept them out of the line-up at one time or another thisseason.

Senior Monick Foote made the decision to redshirt this season dueto a chronic ankle problem (right) and a stress fracture in the same legthat developed during the summer. Foote wanted to take the time to properlyrehab the leg and comeback for a healthy senior year in 1998-99.

Junior Tiffany Bower suffered a torn left achilles tendon on thethird day of practice and did not play this season. Bower worked extremelyhard over the summer to come back from a torn right achilles tendon whichshe suffered on the eve of the NCAA Tournament last March.

Sophomore Renee Robinson suffered a concussion in the Old Dominion(1-27-98) game that kept her sidelined for two games and junior Kate Mooneysuffered a one-inch gash on her head during the N.C. State (2-12-98) gamethat kept her out of most of the first half.

In addition, senior Mimi McKinney has played the entire season on avery sore left knee which was recently diagnosed as a tear in the ligament.She did not play in the Dec. 8 game vs. Mt. St. Mary’s because of a bonebruise on her left knee.

Freshman guards Erin Stovall and Katie Tracy have remained healthythis season.

Right On the Money

Prior to the Jan. 30 game vs. Georgia Tech, Kate Mooney had onlyconnected on 18 three-pointers this season. She was 0-10 from the field inthe Duke game (Jan. 23) and then went 0-2 in the Old Dominion game (Jan.27). But in the next three games, Mooney shot .513 (20-39) from the fieldand led the team in scoring in each of those games. In addition, she was16-29 (.552) from beyond the arc during that stretch.

She recorded a career-high 20 points in the 93-57 win over GeorgiaTech (Jan. 30) and then hit a new career-high of 22 points in the 83-76overtime win at Florida State (Feb. 1). She continued the barrage with 21points in the 72-55 win over Clemson (Feb. 5). She is the only player onthe current roster to have scored 20 or more points in three consecutivegames.

She tied the school record for three-point field goals in a gamewith seven treys in the Florida State game and tied the school record forthree-point field goals in a half with five in the first half against theSeminoles.

Walker Becomes 15th Player To Reach 1000

DeMya Walker became the 15th player in school history to score 1000career points when she connected on a short jumper in the first half of theN.C. State game on Jan. 12. Walker’s short jumper in the lane at the12:51mark of the first half of the N.C. State game sent her over the 1000-pointmark. She had an opportunity to score her 1000th point on a free throwearlier in the game, but missed.

Breaking Into The Top 10

DeMya Walker has 669 rebounds in her career and moved up to eighthin school history with her 11 rebounds in the last game. She is averaging7.4 rebounds per game for her career.

    Player            Years          G   Rebounds1.  Wendy Palmer      1993-96       126  12212.  Heather Burge     1989-93       135  9553.  Cathy Grimes      1982-85       114  9324.  Heidi Burge       1989-93       134  8535.  Dawn Bryant       1985-89       123  8276.  Dawn Staley       1988-92       131  7727.  Chrissy Reese     1980-83       105  7368.  DeMya Walker      1996-present  91   6699.  Tonya Cardoza     1986-91       121  66710. Valerie Ackerman  1978-81       116  641

McKinney Named Player of the Week

For the first time this season, a Virginia player was touted as theACC Player of the Week. Mimi McKinney earned the honor for the week ofJan. 19 after leading Virginia to a 105-100 upset of seventh-ranked NorthCarolina.

McKinney Makes MarkMimi McKinney was scorching the nets on Jan. 15 in Chapel Hill,N.C. and she became the first woman in Virginia history to score over 40points in a game. She was 16-27 from the field, 7-12 from three-pointrange and 9-13 from the charity stripe in her 48-point performance against