Women's Hoops Starts Battle In Asahi Rainbow Wahine Classic Friday

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Nov. 21, 1999

Asahi Rainbow Wahine Classic

Nov. 26-28, 1999 EUR Stan Sheriff Center EUR Honolulu, Hawai’i
Radio: Wina 1070 AM (network)
TV: none

The Cavaliers (0-1) make their third trip to the Rainbow Wahine Classicinthe last 10 years and meet Grambling in the first round on Nov. 26.Virginia will meet either Texas or Long Beach State in the second roundandthe third game could be against the remaining participants: Portland,Washington, Virginia Commonwealth or Hawaii.Following is a capsule of Virginia vs. each of the teams in thetournament.

Grambling: This will be the first ever meeting between the Cavaliersandthe Lady Tigers. Grambling posted an impressive 25-5 record whilewinningthe Southwestern Athletic Conference with a perfect 16-0 record. Theylostin the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Alabama 80-68.

Hawaii: The Rainbow Wahine lead the series with Virginia 1-0. The onlytime these two teams met was in the finals of the Wahine Classic 10yearsago. Hawaii posted a 88-78 win over Virginia on Nov. 26, 1989. Hawaiifinished last season at 17-10 and tied for third in their division intheWestern Athletic Conference. They return four starters.

Long Beach State: The 49’ers lead the series 1-0. The only previousmeeting between the two teams occurred on on Jan. 15, 1981 in UniversityHall and LBSU posted a 73-71 win. The 49’ers return four starters fromlast year’s team that ended the season 18-11 and 10-5 (second in thedivision) in the Big West Conference.

Portland: The Pilots and Cavaliers have never met. Portland returns twostarters from last year’s squad that posted a 16-13 record and finishedfourth in the West Coast Conference with a 7-7 league record. ThePilotslost in the first round of the WNIT Tournament last year.

Texas: The Cavaliers lead the series with Texas 2-0. Virginia defeatedtheLonghorns 80-74 at Texas on Dec. 1, 1990 and again on Dec. 7, 1991 athomeby a score of 77-47. Texas returns four starters from a team that had a16-12 record overall and a 10-6 record in the Big 12 Conference, goodforfourth place. The Longhorns lost to Auburn 69-61 in the first round oftheNCAA Tournament.

VCU: If these two teams meet in the tournament, they will havetravelledthousands of miles to play each other, when in fact they are only 60milesapart from each other in Virginia. Virginia holds a 14-6 advantage intheseries and last season, the Cavaliers defeated VCU 99-57 at home. TheCavaliers have won 13 straight games in the series which dates back tothe1973-74 season. the Rams return four starters from a team that went11-17in the Colonial Athletic Association and finished fifth in the leaguewith7-9 record.

Washington: The Huskies and Virginia have never met. Last season,Washington posted a 16-13 record and finished fifth in the Pac 10 with aconference record of 11-7. They return two starters.Tournament Schedule

Nov. 26

9:00 a.m.	Texas vs. Long Beach11:10 a.m.	Virginia vs. Grambling1:20 p.m.	Washington vs. Portland3:30 p.m.	Hawaii vs. VCU

Nov. 27

9:00 a.m.	Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 211:10 a.m.	Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 41:20 p.m.	Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 43:30 p.m	Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Nov. 28

9:00 a.m.	Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 811:10 a.m.	Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 71:20 p.m.	Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 83:30 p.m.	Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7

Virginia Falls To St. Joseph’s in Season Opener 73-61
Virginia had an less than favorable beginning to the new season when itlost to St. Jospeh’s 73-61 in the season opener on Nov. 21. It was thefirst time the Cavaliers have lost a season opener at home. Virginiafallsto 0-1 while St. Joseph’s record stands at 1-0.

The two teams battled to a 34-34 tie at half-time with the lead changinghands six times in the first stanza. Virginia scored the first bucket ofthe second half, but quickly fell behind by 17 points over the next nineminutes on a 15-2 run. The Hawks held the Cavaliers scoreless for a spanof4:31 seconds during that stretch and never allowed Virginia to gainmomentum. The Hawks shot 50.0 percent from the field in the second half(9-18) while Virginia could only muster 33.3 percent from the field(12-36). For the game, the Hawks shot 42.2 percent from the field(19-45)and Virginia shot 39.7 percent (27-68).St. Joseph’s made 28 of 37 freethrows while Virginia converted four of seven.

Cheryl Kulesa scored 18 points to lead St. Joseph’s and Angela Zampellahad 17 points while teammates Jana Lichnerova had 13 points and 12reboundsand Susan Moran contributed 13 points.

For the Cavaliers, Schuye LaRue led the team with 18 points andseven rebounds. Elena Kravchenko recorded 13 points and Lisa Hosac had10points and seven rebounds.

Homecoming For Stovall
The trip to Hawaii will be a homecoming of sorts for Erin Stovall whograduated from Iolani High school in 1997. She is originally fromIrvine,Calif., but spent her senior year at Iolani High School. She was namedtheGatorade Player of the Year in Hawaii and named to the Nissan HawaiiHighSchool Hall of Honor for the sport of basketball. In addition, she wasastand-out track athlete and earned Hawaii’s Track Athlete of the Year in1997 and was named the Top Female Performer at the Panahou Relays thatsameyear. She was the state champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters and longjump and held and might even still hold the the state records in the 100hurdles and the 200 meters.

All Games From Hawaii on Radio
WINA AM 1070 will broadcast all three of Virginia’s games in the RainbowWahine Classic on Nov. 26-28. Virginia faces Grambling in the firstround(4:10 p.m ET) and either Texas or Long Beach State in the second round(2:00 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. ET). The third game could be against theremainingparticipants: Portland, Washington, Virginia Commonwealth or Hawaii withthe time to be announced after the second game. This is Virginia’s thirdtrip to the Wahine Classic Tournament. (Game times listed above areEasterntime which is five hours ahead of Hawaiian time).

In the Polls
With Virginia grabbing the final spot in the preseason USA Today poll,theCavaliers extended their streak in the polls. The Cavaliers have beenranked every week in either the AP or USA Today poll since Jan. 8, 1984.The Cavaliers have been ranked a total of 280 consecutive weeks in atleastone of the polls. Virginia holds the longest active streak of any ACCteamin the AP poll 182 weeks. The current streak in the AP poll started onNov.20, 1989. The Cavaliers have appeared in every USA Today poll for atotalof 260 consecutive weeks.

Cavaliers Spilt Exhibition Games
Virginia won one and lost one of two exhibition games in the preseason.The Cavaliers lost to the USA National Team 44-96 on Nov. 12 and thendefeated the Vologda Russia team 100-54 on Nov. 16.

USA Game: Lisa Leslie had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Dawn Staleymadeher return University Hall as the U.S. women’s national team bolted toanearly lead and beat up on Virginia 96-44 Friday night.

Natalie Williams added 13 points, Katie Smith 12, Yolanda Griffith 11andRuthie Bolton Holifield 10 for Team USA. Staley, a two-time NaismithAward-winner at Virginia in the early 1990s, added five points and nineassists in 22 minutes. The all-star team, barnstorming the countryplayingtop college programs in a tune-up for the 2000 Olympics, led 50-21 athalftime and dominated every facet of the game. It outshot Virginia 56.7percent to 30.6 percent, got 41 rebounds to the Cavaliers’ 24 and forced26turnovers while committing just 14.Renee Robinson, playing in Staley’s point guard spot for the Cavaliers,ledVirginia with 11 points and three assists, but also committed seventurnovers. Elena Kravchenko added 10 points for the Cavaliers.

Vologda Game: Five Cavaliers scored in double figures, led by ErinStovall’s 21 points, as Virginia defeated Vologda Russia 100-54 tonightinUniversity Hall. Telisha Quarles added 16 points on a perfect night fromthe field (6-6) and Lisa Hosac contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds intheeffort. Renee Robinson connected for 14 points and Dean’na Mitchelsonadded12 points.

The Cavaliers ran off 10 straight points mid-way through thefirsthalf and cruised on to a 61-28 half-time lead. Virginia shot 65 percentfrom the field in the first stanza while holding Vologda to 27 percent.For the game, Virginia shot 56 percent from the field (39-69) whileVologdamanaged only 27 percent (17-63).

Marina Kress led Vologda with 14 points.

Stovall Returns as Team’s Top Scoring Threat
Junior Erin Stovall is Virginia’s top returning scorer. The 5-9 guardis aleading candidate for All-ACC Honors and could be considered for Playerofthe Year honors. She is the team’s top returning perimeter shooter but,with her quickness, can also drive past an opponent. Watch for herpointsto come on fast break opportunities.

She averaged 14.5 points per game and ranked second on the team andninthin the ACC in scoring. Stovall had Virginia’s top four scoring gamesandaveraged 15.8 points per game vs. ranked opponents.

Making A Point
At point guard, senior Renee Robinson returns for her final season andwillbe challenged by sophomore Telisha Quarles for the starting spot.Robinson(3.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.0 apg) has expanded her shooting range and poppedseveal three-pointers in the exhibition games. She battled a stressfracture in her foot during the summer and worked herself into shape intime for the exhibition games. Robinson will get help at point guardfrom

Quarles (2.2 ppg, 1.4 apg, 9.7 mpg) who logged alot of minutes andshowedflashes of brilliance, but also made freshman mistakes. Quarles canshootthe three and is not afraid to put one up. She hit a three-pointer onherfirst ever field goal attempt last season and she continued to haveimpressive minutes. Quarles should be a major contributor this season.

Hosac Leads Post Players
Senior Lisa Hosac (6.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg) returns for her senior season atforward. The 6-2 forward has played in the shadow of All-ACC performerDeMya Walker the last three years and with Walker gone, Hosac could haveabanner year. She is the team’s second-highest returning scorer behindStovall and the team’s top returning rebounder. Hosac has soundfundamentals and has the potential to put alot of points on the board asevidenced by her 29-point performance in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Shewasthe best free-throw shooter on the team last season, shooting over 84percent from the line.

Cavs Look For Rebounding Help
With the departure of three of the top four rebounders from last season(DeMya Walker, Monick Foote and Lesley Brown) rebounding is a questionmarkfor the Cavaliers this season. The team’s top returning rebounder isseniorLisa Hosac (4.4 rpg). No other returning player on the roster averagedmorethan 3.4 rebounds per game. Junior Chalois Lias (1.6 rpg) could help theCavaliers out on the boards with her bounding athleticism and freshmanSchuye LaRue and junior Dean’na Mitchelson could muscle their way toclearthe boards.

LaRue Heads Freshman Class
Six foot-three forward Schuye LaRue (pronounced Sky) headlines thefreshmanclass. LaRue, from Archbishop Carroll HS in Washington, D.C., is18th-ranked senior in the country in the Blue Star Report. She averaged22points, 15 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists as a senior.

Fellow freshman Marcie Dickson, a 6-1 forward from Columbia HS inMaplewood, N.J. is ranked 74th in the same report. She averaged 14points,eight rebounds and four blocks in her senior year.Rounding out the freshman class is 6-2 Anna Crosswhite from Castlecrag,Australia.

Lias Looking For Regular Role
Looking to have a break-out year is junior Chalois Lias (2.0 ppg, 1.6rpg).The 6-1 forward showed great improvement in all facets of her game inthelatter half of the season. As one of the most athletic players on theroster, her leaping ability could help the Cavaliers on the boards.Lastseason, she averaged only 1.6 rpg in 8.0 minutes per game, but shouldseean increase in playing time this season.