Virginia Opens ACC Play At No. 22 Duke

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Dec. 4, 1999

Virginia (3-2, 0-0)
at #22 Duke (5-1, 0-0)

Dec. 5, 1999 — 2:00 p.m.
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.

Radio: Wina 1070 AM
TV: none

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Cavaliers open the conference season on the road with a game at 22nd-ranked Duke. The Blue Devils are the first of three ranked opponents the Cavaliers will face in the next 15 days. Virginia plays at #19 Old Dominion on Dec. 10 and hosts #25 Virginia Tech on Dec. 20.

This game will be a match-up of two of the league’s top rookies. Virginia freshman Schuye LaRue enters the game ranked third in the ACC in scoring (17.6 ppg), fourth in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and leads the league in field goal percentage (.639). Duke’s Sheana Mosch, who was tabbed as the preseason ACC Rookie of the Year, ranks third on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (3.3 rpg). She is shooting 47.9 from the field and averages 2.7 assists per game.

Virginia is on a two-game winning streak and are 1-0 on the road. Duke enters the game on a four-game winning streak and are 5-1 at home.

Series with Duke
This game marks the 43rd meeting between Duke and Virginia with the Cavaliers leading the series 31-11. However, Duke has won the last four games and six out of the last nine. Virginia has not won in Cameron Indoor Stadium in the last two tries. The last win on Duke’s home floor came on Feb. 19, 1997 when the Cavaliers defeated the Blue Devils 86-56.

In head-to-head competition, Virginia’s Debbie Ryan holds a 9-6 advantage over Duke’s Gail Goestenkors.

Possible Starters
possible starters are based on the last game’s starting line-up

Key Reserves

Team Leaders
Scoring: Schuye LaRue 17.6 ppg
Rebounding: Schuye LaRue 7.8 rpg
Assists: Renee Robinson 4.8 apg
Steals: Renee Robinson 3.0 spg

How the Teams Match Up:

LaRue Named ACC Rookie of the Week
Schuye LaRue was named the ACC Rookie of the Week after her performance at the Rainbow Wahine Classic. In the three-game tournament, LaRue averaged 19.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and was 24-39 from the floor for a shooting percentage of 61.5 percent. In the Washington game, LaRue was a perfect 9-9 from the floor, 1-1 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free throw line. She tied the school record for field goal percentage, a mark that was set in 1995 by Wendy Palmer and matched last season by DeMya Walker. LaRue was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the Wahine Classic along with teammate Erin Stovall.

Mitchelson Out Indefinitely With Shoulder Injury
Junior Dean’na Mitchelson suffered a dislocated right shoulder two minutes into the Nov. 21 game vs. St. Joseph’s. She had earned a starting position in the season opener after impressing the coaching staff during the two preseason games. Mitchelson did not play in any of the games in Hawaii, but did dress and warmed up with the team in the last two games of the tournament. She did not dress for the Cavaliers’ game at William & Mary on Dec. 2 and most likely will not dress for the Duke game.

Tough Start For the Cavaliers
The Cavaliers’ 2-2 start this season, marked the first time since the 1977-78 season, that the Cavaliers were .500 after their first four games of the season. The 1977-78 season was also Head Coach Debbie Ryan’s first season as head coach at Virginia. The team finished 8-17 that year. The win over William & Mary on Dec. 2 bumped the Cavaliers above the .500 mark at 3-2.

Stovall Ties Career High In Win Over William & Mary
Erin Stovall scored 27 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 71-42 win at William & Mary on Thursday. The 27 points matches her career-high and is the team’s best individual offensive output this season. Against the Tribe, Stovall was 9-15 from the field (.600) and 3-6 from three-point range. She has scored in double figures in all but one game this year.

In the ACC
Freshman Schuye LaRue has made an impact on the Virginia squad as well as in the ACC statistics. As of Dec. 3, LaRue leads the conference in field goal percentage (.639, 39-61), is the league’s third leading scorer (17.6 ppg) and ranks fourth in rebounds (7.8 rpg) and blocks (1.2 bpg).

Junior Erin Stovall ranks sixth in the conference in scoring (16.2 ppg) and 10th in free throw percentage (.741, 20-27) while fellow junior Svetlana Volnaya leads the ACC in free throw percentage (.923, 12-13).

Senior Renee Robinson ranks second in assists (4.8 apg) and fifth in steals (3.0 spg).

In the Polls
With Virginia grabbing the final spot in the preseason USA Today poll, the Cavaliers extended their streak in the polls. However, by not securing a spot in the pre-season AP poll, the Cavaliers’ streak of 182 consecutive weeks in that poll is history. Up until the polls of Nov. 22, the Cavaliers had been ranked every week in either the AP or USA Today poll since Jan. 8, 1984-a total of 281 consecutive weeks.

Virginia holds the longest streak of any ACC team in the AP poll-182 weeks. The streak in the AP poll started on Nov. 20, 1989 and ended this season. The Cavaliers had appeared in every USA Today poll for a total of 261 consecutive weeks.

Homecoming For Stovall
The trip to Hawaii was a homecoming of sorts for Erin Stovall who graduated from Honolulu’s Iolani High school in 1997. She is originally from Irvine, Calif., but spent her senior year at Iolani High School. She was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Hawaii and named to the Nissan Hawaii High School Hall of Honor for the sport of basketball. In addition, she was a stand-out track athlete and earned Hawaii’s Track Athlete of the Year in 1997 and was named the Top Female Performer at the Panahou Relays that same year. She was the state champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters and long jump and held and still holds the the state records in the 100 hurdles and the 200 meters.

In the Hawaii tournament, Stovall scored 21 points to lead Virginia to the 100-79 win. Against Texas, she scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds and against Washington, she scored 13 points and had three rebounds and four assists. She was named to the All-Tournament team.

Virginia Considered One of Top Teams of the 1990s
In a recent compilation of the top teams of the 1990s, Virginia was ranked near the top in number of wins and winning percentage. The categories and where Virginia ranks are listed below. The numbers are the number of wins entering the 1999-2000 season:

Ryan Holds Advantage vs. Current ACC Coaches
Debbie Ryan holds a 138-71 record against the current coaches in the ACC and holds a winning record versus every coach in the conference.

Ryan vs.Jim Davis, Clemson                  19-11Gail Goestenkors, Duke              9-6Sue Semrau, Florida St.             4-0Agnus Berenato, Georgia Tech        23-3Chris Weller, Maryland              31-20Sylvia Hatchell, North Carolina     22-9Kay Yow, N.C. State                 25-22Charlene Curtis, Wake Forest        5-0                                    138-71

The Cavalier’s record when they:

Starting Line-ups:

Virginia’s record on:

Game-by-Game Stats

Superlatives

Individual Points-Rebounds-Assists

Double-doubles:Schuye LaRue – 24 pt., 14 reb vs. Texas

Games with double figures in scoring:

Games with double figures in rebounds: