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Women's Hoops Takes on ACC Rival Georgia Tech
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February 17, 1999
#17 Virginia (17-7, 10-4)
at
Georgia Tech (13-11, 6-8)
Feb. 18, 19997:00 p.m.Atlanta, Ga.Alexander Memorial Coliseum (10,000)TV: noneRadio: WINA 1070 AM
The Cavaliers travel to Georgia Tech for their last regular season road game of the year. Virginia has won two of its last three games and it hopes to break a two-game losing streak at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets defeated Virginia 72-60 on Feb. 13, 1997 and claimed the second straight win on Dec. 6, 1997 by the score of 84-65.
The Cavaliers enter tonight’s game as the league’s top defensive team. Virginia has given up only 62.6 points per game in ACC contests while allowing conference opponents to shoot only 35.8 from the floor. The Cavaliers also lead the ACC in blocked shots and rank second in steals. Virginia is the league’s top free throw shooting team.
The Cavaliers have won two of their last three games. Since January, the Cavaliers are 10-4 with all four losses coming to higher-ranked teams.
To recap the Cavalier’s last outing, Lesley Brown led Virginia with a career-high 22 points and a team-high eight rebounds but Virginia fell to North Carolina 82-80 in overtime. DeMya Walker, who spent 14 minutes of the first half on the bench with foul trouble, scored 18 points and had four blocks. Monick Foote and Erin Stovall each scored in double figures with 11 and 14 points. The Cavaliers shot 42.9 percent from the floor but were outrebounded 52-41.
DeMya Walker leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (8.7 rpg), assists (3.0 apg) and blocked shots (3.1 bpg). Erin Stovall is the team’s second leading scorer (14.5 ppg) while Monick Foote ranks third (12.4 ppg).Two More to 500
Head Coach Debbie Ryan needs only two wins to reach the 500-win mark for her career. Ryan has averaged 23 wins per season and enters her 22nd season with a career and Virginia record of 498-172 (.743).
Only three other coaches in Division I have attained 500 wins at one school: Pat Summit (Tennessee), Jody Conradt (Texas) and Kay Yow (N.C. State).
Series with Georgia Tech
This is the 44th meeting between Georgia Tech and Virginia and the Cavaliers lead the series 39-4. Virginia has won 22 of the last 24 contests between the two teams. The Yellow Jackets have a two-game winning streak vs. the Cavaliers in Atlanta.
How the Teams Match Up
How the team ranks in overall games in the ACC:
Virginia Georgia TechPoints 76.4 (3) 75.5 (4)Points Allowed 62.8 (2) 70.8 (6)Rebounds 40.3 42.0 Rebound Margin +2.1 (6) +0.6 (4)FG % .439 (3) .438 (4)FG% defense .371 (2) .405 (5)3-pt FG % .278 (7) .376 (2)FT % .708 (1) .671 (6)Assists 14.4 13.9Turnovers 17.8 19.7Blocks 6.3 (1) 2.3 (7)Steals 10.7 (2) 9.2 (5)
Last Time vs. the Yellow Jackets
DeMya Walker scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead 22nd-ranked Virginia to an 82-62 victory over Georgia Tech in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle.
Tech started the game missing their first 16 shots and scored their first field goal, a running jump shot by freshman Niesha Butler, with 8:10 remaining in the first half to make the score 25-5. Tech ended the half on a 18-6 run and to pull within eight points of the lead.
“The first ten minutes were fine, but don’t even ask me about the second ten minutes,” said Virginia coach Debbie Ryan. “There are ups and downs in a game, but that’s about as far down as you can go. It might have been too easy, too early.”
Walker made 8-of-12 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws, helping the Cavaliers (11-4, 5-1 ACC) to their third straight win after an 84-68 setback at No. 16 Duke on January 4.
Monick Foote scored 16 points, Elena Kravchenko collected 13 and Erin Stovall added 11 for Virginia, which shot 46 percent (29-of-63) from the field while limiting Georgia Tech to just 31 percent (22-of-72).
Danielle Donehew drilled five three-pointers and scored 18 points for the Lady Jackets (9-7, 2-5), who suffered their fourth straight ACC loss.
Svetlana Volnaya made two of Virginia’s three three-pointers and finished with 10 points. The Cavaliers held a 47-43 edge on the boards and scored 20 points off as many Georgia Tech turnovers.
Quick Notes
The starting centers of the ACC average only 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds vs. the Cavaliers.The Cavaliers are more successful in the last three days of the week than in the first three days. Virginia is 9-1 in games played on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and are 8-6 in games played on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Erin Stovall is nearing the record for most three-point field goals made by a sophomore. Stovall has 38 for the season and needs only five more to reach the mark set by Tora Suber (43) in 1995. Virginia outrebounded Clemson 42-21 on Jan. 31 for its largest rebound margin of the season. The Cavaliers outrebounded their opponents by an average of 12.5 rebounds in their most recent four-game winning streak. In the national stats, Virginia ranks 17th in field goal percentage defense (37.1). DeMya Walker ranks fourth in blocked shots (3.1).Lisa Hosac’s string of 30 consecutive free throws was broken in the Duke game on Feb. 4. Hosac’s 30 straight free throws made established a new school record and broke the previous record of 26 set by Sandy Glasson in 1981.
In the Polls
The Cavaliers have been ranked every week in either the AP or USA Today poll since Jan. 8, 1984. The Cavaliers have been ranked a total of 277 consecutive weeks in at least one of the polls.
Virginia holds the longest active streak of any ACC team in the AP poll179 weeks. The current streak in the AP poll started on Nov. 20, 1989. The Cavaliers have appeared in every USA Today poll for a total of 257 consecutive weeks.
Sly Better Off Bench
Svetlana Volnaya, or “Sly” as her teammates call her, earned a starting role early in the season and started the first 10 games. Her productivity fell off in the Auburn game and Sly found herself in a reserve role. Below is the comparison of her stats when she starts and when she subs:
Games Pts. Reb. FG% 3-pt FG% Min.Starter 12 6.8 2.8 .315 .214 20.2Reserve 12 7.3 4.2 .405 .344 19.9
Robinson Playing Better Since Injury
It might have taken an injury to improve Renee Robinson’s performance on the court. Her stats improved after playing a gutsy 24 minutes and dishing out six assists in the game following the sprained left ankle and has since been a better player for Coach Ryan. In the nine games after the injury, Robinson improved to 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Below is the comparison of Robinson’s stats prior to the injury, after the injury and her cumulative stats:
G FG Pts. Reb. Ast. St. Min.Prior to injury 15 14-35 2.5 2.0 2.5 1.3 22.5Post injury 9 16-37 4.0 3.4 3.4 2.0 28.7Cumulative 24 30-72 3.1 2.5 2.8 1.5 24.9
Ryan Holds Advantage in Series with Current ACC Coaches
Debbie Ryan holds a 135-70 record against the current coaches in the ACC and holds a winning record versus every coach in the conference.
Ryan vs.
Jim Davis, Clemson 19-11 Gail Goestenkors, Duke 9-6 Sue Semrau, Florida St. 3-0 Agnus Berenato, Georgia Tech 22-3 Chris Weller, Maryland 31-20 Sylvia Hatchell, North Carolina 22-8 Kay Yow, N.C. State 25-22 Charlene Curtis, Wake Forest 4-0 135-70
Hosac Breaks 18-year old Free Throw Record
Lisa Hosac hit 30 consecutive free throws before missing in the Duke game on Feb. 4. Hosac’s streak began when she made her last three free throws in the VCU game on Nov. 24. She entered the Wake Forest game on Jan. 28 with a string of 26 straight made free throws which tied the 18-year old record held by Sandy Glasson. With her 4-4 performance from the line vs. the Demon Deacons, Hosac broke Glasson’s record and extended the streak to 30.
The streak was very close to being broken when Hosac attempted what would be her last attempt of the night, and missed it, but Svetlana Volnaya was called for a lane violation which nullified the attempt.
She leads the team with 92.3 free throw percentage (36-39). She has missed only two free throws in ACC games (19-21, 90.5%).
Walker Ranks Second in ACC in Career Blocked Shots
DeMya Walker currently ranks second in the ACC with 321 career blocked shots. With her only block in the Florida State game on Jan. 22, she moved into sole possession of second place in the ACC standings. She needs nine more blocks to become the ACC’s all-time leader.
Player, team Years GP Blk Avg. 1. Dawn Royster (UNC) 1984-87 110 329 3.0 2. DeMya Walker (UVa.) 1996- 117 321 2.7
Walker Moving Up in NCAA Block Party
With her 321 career blocked shots, DeMya Walker ranks 13th in NCAA history in blocked shots, tied with Lisa Leslie of USC. The all-time NCAA record is 428 blocks by Genia Miller (Cal State Fullerton, 1988-91). If Walker breaks the ACC blocked shot record, she will be in the top 10 of the NCAA rankings.
Last Player, team Season GP Blk 1. Genia Miller (Cal State Fullerton) 1991 118 428 2. Heidi Gillingham (Vanderbilt) 1994 128 413 3. Rebecca Lobo (Connecticut) 1995 126 396 4. Chris Enger (San Diego) 1993 96 372 5. Kara Wolters (Connecticut) 1997 137 370 6. Angela Gorsica (Vanderbilt) 1997 127 368 7. Trish Andrew (Michigan) 1993 113 367 8. Denise Hogue (College of Charleston) 1993 106 359 9. Amy Lundquist (Loyola Marymount/DePaul) 1997 113 33610. Dawn Royster (North Carolina) 1987 110 32911. Tajama Abraham (George Washington) 1997 130 32612. Stefanie Kasperski (Oregon) 1990 89 32213. Lisa Leslie (Southern California) 1994 120 321 DeMya Walker (Virginia) 1999 117 321
Walker Moves Into Fourth in Career Rebounds
DeMya Walker continues to climb up the chart in career rebounds. The 6-3 senior has a career average of 7.6 rebounds per game and 895 total for her career. She needs 38 more to move ahead of Cathy Grimes in third place.
Reb. Player (years) G1. 1221 Wendy Palmer (1993-96) 1262. 955 Heather Burge (1990-93) 1353. 932 Cathy Grimes (1982-85 1144. 895 DeMya Walker (1996-present ) 1175. 853 Heidi Burge (1990-93) 134
The Long Rangers
Monick Foote and Erin Stovall are becoming one of the most deadly three-point shooting combos in school history since Foote teamed with Tora Suber several years ago. The duo combined for 111 three-pointers in 1996 and 97 treys in 1997. Foote and Stovall have 60 between them this season. Stovall has connected on 38 bombs this season and needs only five more to match Tora Suber’s sophomore record of 43.
In the career standings, Foote moved into second place ahead of Tammi Reiss with the first three-pointer she hit in the Wake Forest game on Jan. 28. Stovall who connected on 32 trifectas last season, holds onto eighth place with 70 career three-pointers.
3FGM Player (years) Att.1. 220 Tora Suber (1994-97) 6662. 143 Monick Foote (1995-present) 4003. 139 Tammi Reiss (1989-92) 3344. 134 Dena Evans (1990-93) 3705. 131 Dawn Staley (1989-92) 3716. 91 Kate Mooney (1995-present**) 282 91 Mimi McKinney (1995-98 ) 2888. 70 Erin Stovall (1997-present) 252**redshirting the 1999 season
Stovall Blazes Through January
Erin Stovall opened the new year with a scoring blitz. The 5-9 sophomore scored a career-high 26 points in the win at Clemson (Jan. 2) and followed that with 25 points in the loss at Duke (Jan. 4). Stovall was named the ACC Player of the Week (Jan. 4) for her performance and she is the first player since the 1996-97 season to score 25 or more points in back-to-back games (DeMya Walker). Stovall scored 14 points in the win over Maryland (Jan. 8) and connected on a team-high 19 points in the win at N.C. State (Jan. 11). Stovall scored eight points in a 12-1 run in the second half that sealed the win against the Wolfpack. She followed that with 19 points vs. Georgia Tech (Jan. 14) and 24 points vs. North Carolina (Jan. 18).
Since gaining a regular starting role on Jan. 2 vs. Clemson, Erin Stovall is averaging 15.2 points per game compared with 12.9 as a reserve. When she is in the starting line-up, the Cavaliers are 10-4. Against ranked opponents, Stovall averages 16.8 ppg.
On the Boards
Crashing the boards or lack thereof has been Virginia’s achilles heel this year. For a team that prided itself on rebounding in recent years, this year’s team has had its ups and downs. The Cavaliers have been outrebounded in nine games this season and are 2-7 in those games. However, when the Cavaliers outrebound their opponent, they are 15-0.
The win at Clemson was the first time this season the Cavaliers pulled out a win with fewer rebounds than the opponent (45-53). The Cavaliers squeezed out a win over Maryland on Jan. 8 despite being outrebounded 41-37.
The Cavaliers hold a +2.1 rebound margin over its opponents this season. Last season was the first time since 1988-89 that Virginia had a negative rebound margin (-1.4).
Duo Combines For Best Shooting Performance
DeMya Walker and Lesley Brown shot a combined 17-17 (1.000) in Virginia’s 102-44 win over Towson on Dec. 11 and recorded the top shooting performance in UVa history. Walker tied Wendy Palmer for the best individual shooting performance in school history with her 9-9 shooting from the field. Brown’s 8-8 performance from the field completed the best shooting performance by a duo in any single game in UVa history.
In Palmer’s 9-9 effort vs. Cleveland State on Nov. 29, 1995, Monick Foote was 5-5 from the field.
In the Towson game, Virginia shot 61.5 percent (40-65) the highest field goal percentage since Jan. 25, 1994 when the team shot 65.5 percent vs. Duke (36-55).
Cavaliers On Radio
All of the Cavaliers games, both home and away, will be broadcast on WINA 1070 AM or its sister station WKAV 1400 AM.
Robby Robinson will call the play-by-play and former Cavalier stand-out Jenny Boucek will add the color commentary.