Women's Hoops Travels to ACC Tournament

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Feb. 25, 1998

ACC Tournament
Independence Arena
Charlotte, N.C.

Quick Notes on Virginia

• Virginia is ranked 15th in both the AP and USA Today polls. TheCavaliers remained the same in the AP poll but dropped one spot in the USAToday poll.
• The Cavaliers ended the regular season with a loss toeleventh-ranked Duke on Feb. 22 in Charlottesville. Virginia ended theregular season 18-8 and 9-7 and enters the ACC Tournament as the fifthseed, the lowest seed for the Cavaliers since the 1983 season when theywere the sixth seed.
• Head Coach Debbie Ryan summed up the season best after alack-luster performance at Wake Forest on Feb. 18. Ryan said “Our highshave been very high and our lows have been very low. We need to playsomewhere in the middle on a consistent basis.”
• Virginia is 24-17 in the ACC Tournament (.585). The Cavaliers are 15-5in the quarterfinals, 6-9 in the semifinals and 3-3 in the finals.
• 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.
• With her 23-point performance vs. Wake Forest last week, DeMyaWalker overtook Mimi McKinney as the team’s leading scorer. McKinney hadbeen the leading scorer for most of the season, but she played only nineminutes vs. Wake Forest due to a a very sore left knee which has steadilyworsened in the last few weeks.
• Walker leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.3rpg). McKinney ranks second on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg), but leadsthe team in assists (3.8 apg) and steals (2.1 spg). Erin Stovall ranksthird on the team in scoring (9.4 ppg) and second in steals (2.0 spg).
• In all games, the Cavaliers are 10-3 at home, 8-4 on the roadand 0-1 at a neutral site. In ACC games, Virginia is 5-3 at home, 4-4 onthe road.
• Virginia is 2-6 vs. ranked opponents this season. Againstranked opponents, Mimi McKinney is averaging 17.5 ppg and DeMya Walker isaveraging 15.3 ppg.
• DeMya Walker needs just three 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 11-1 when they out-rebound their opponent.The only loss came on Feb. 15 when the Cavaliers out-rebounded NorthCarolina 58-51 and lost in double overtime. Virginia is 6-7 when theopponent controls the boards and 1-0 when the rebounds are even. TheCavaliers have a +0.8 rebound margin in wins while the margin drops to -8.7in losses.

Probable Virginia StartersP.  No.  Player             Cl.   Ht.   StatsF   00   Dean'na Mitchelson Fr.   6-2   1.9 ppg, 1.4 rpgF   40   Kate Mooney        Jr.   6-0   6.7 ppg, 3.1 rpgC   22   DeMya Walker       Jr.   6-2   15.7 ppg, 8.3 rpgG   21   Mimi McKinney      Sr.   5-9   15.0 ppg, 5.5 rpgG    3   Erin Stovall       Fr.   5-9   9.4 ppg, 2.7 rpgOff the BenchP.  No.  Player             Cl.   Ht.   StatsF   20   Lisa Hosac         So.   6-2   7.5 ppg, 7.1 rpgF   30   Chalois Lias       Fr.   6-0   3.3 ppg, 2.1 rpgF    4   Lesley Brown       Jr.   6-0   6.4 ppg, 3.0 rpgG    5   Renee Robinson     So.   5-6   3.5 ppg, 2.9 rpgG   12   Katie Tracy        Fr.   5-5   1.8 ppg, 0.7 rpgC   14   Elena Kravchenko   Fr.   6-10  1.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg

Head Coach Debbie Ryan
Head Coach Debbie Ryan, in her 21st season, brings a career recordof 480-163 (.747) 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 Dominon 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 three games, the Virginia reserves have averaged22.7 points per game.
• Erin Stovall averages 10.4 ppg as a reserve and 7.8 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  27-22    1-1N.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 scoreher 1000th point on a free throwearlier in the game, but missed.

Breaking Into The Top 10
DeMya Walker has 658 rebounds in her career and ranks ninth inschool history. She is averaging 7.3 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.   Tonya Cardoza    1986-91       121   6679.   DeMya Walker     1996-present   90   65810.  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 Mark
Mimi 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 againstfifth-ranked North Carolina in triple overtime (Jan. 15). She had 35points at the end of regulation. The 48 points is the most ever by a men’sor women’s Virginia player against a Division I opponent. McKinney’s 48points ranks second all-time in Virginia basketball history behind BarryParkhill’s 51 points vs. Baldwin-Wallace (Dec. 11, 1971) and ties BuzzyWilkerson’s 48-point game vs. Hampden-Sydney (Dec. 1, 1954).

She eclipsed the women’s single game scoring record of 39established by Wendy Palmer in the Maryland game on Jan. 25, 1995.

Climbing Up The Charts
Mimi McKinney and Kate Mooney are moving up the chart inthree-point shooting. McKinney’s seven treys against UNC moved her ahead ofMooney.

Tora Suber is Virginia’s all-time leader in three-point field goalsmade with 220.

     Player           G  Made  Att.1.   Tora Suber     127   220   6662.   Tammi Reiss    127   139   3343.   Dena Evans     134   129   3704.   Dawn Staley    131   124   3715.   Monick Foote    84   121   3266.   Mimi McKinney  100    87   2737.   Kate Mooney     77    87   2698.   Kathy McConnell 62    64   2109.   Donna Holt      32    49   12810.  Wendy Palmer   126    31    96

Walker Is UVa’s All-Time Blocks Leader
DeMya Walker set a new UVa single game record for blocked shotswith eight blocks in the Florida State game on Jan. 2. She broke the oldrecord of seven which was held by Walker (twice), Heidi Burge and JackiLaBerge. she ranks fifth in ACC history in blocked shots.

Walker’s first block of the season, which came in the 13:06 markin the second half of the William & Mary game (Nov. 16), established her asthe Virginia’s all-time blocks leader, eclipsing the mark of 152 set byHeather Burge (1990-93). Walker ended the night with three blocks.

Walker Second in Nation in Blocks
DeMya Walker ranks second in the nation in blocked shots. SamanthaTomlinson of Troy State is top shot blocker in the country with 4.1 blocksper game. Here are the top five in that category:

     Player (school)                  G    B  Avg.1.   Samantha Tomlinson (Troy St.)   21   88   4.12.   DeMya Walker (Virginia)         24   82   3.3     Teresa Jenkins (Florida A & M)  21   68   3.24.   Myndee Larsen (Southern Utah)   21   64   3.05.   Brooke Wyckoff (Florida State)  23   69   3.0Stats as of Feb. 16, 1998

Walker Fourth in ACC Blocks
Walker is closing in on the ACC numbers as well. Currently, sheranks fourth in the conference in blocked shots with 243 career blockedshots and needs only three more blocks to move ahead of Dolores Bootz ofGeorgia Tech. She is 86 blocks away from tying the conference record.Walker has 91 blocks this season.

     Player, school (years)               G     B   Avg1.   Dawn Royster, UNC (1984-87)        110   329   3.02.   Peggy Caple, Clem (1982-1985)      119   298   2.53.   Dolores Bootz, GaT (1985-88)        91   245   2.74.   DeMya Walker, Va. (1996- present)   90   243   2.7

Robinson Recovers From Concussion
Point guard Renee Robinson, who missed two games due to aconcussion, was cleared to play in the Feb. 5 game with Clemson.Robinsonsuffered the injury in the Old Dominion game (Jan. 27) when she collidedwith Mery Andrade at midcourt. She was knocked unconscious, but returned toplay in that game. However, on the team’s return to Charlottesville,Robinson was diagnosed with a concussion and was sidelined for the GeorgiaTech game (Jan. 30) and the Florida State game (Feb.1).

Since her return in the Clemson game, Robinson has averaged 15.5minutes of action, but has not regained her starting role from freshmanErin Stovall.

ACC Season-Highs
Mimi McKinney’s 48 points vs. North Carolina is the ACC’s seasonhigh in points. She also holds the season-high in field goals made (16) andthree-point field goals made (7). DeMya Walker’s eight blocks is aseason-high for the conference, tied with Florida State’s Brooke Wyckoff.