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Dec. 22, 1999

Siena (2-6)vs. Virginia (5-4)

Dec. 27, 1999 — University Hall — Charlottesville, Va.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Cavaliers close out December with a three-game homestand beginningwithSiena on Dec. 27. Siena visits University Hall for the first time inthefirst ever meeting between the two teams.The Saints enter the game with a 2-6 record and come to Charlottesvilleona two-game winning streak. They defeated Iona 86-68 on Dec. 5 andPrinceton 80-64 on Dec. 11. This game is the Saints’ first action sincetheir Dec. 11 game at Princeton. The Saints are 1-4 on the road.After tonight’s game, the Cavaliers return to action on Dec. 29-30 whenthey host Butler, Radford and Syracuse in the Nationwide CavalierClassic.

Time Changes for Nationwide Classic

Please note that the game times for the second day of the NationwideCavalier Classic have been changed. On Dec. 30, the Butler-Radford gamewill start at 3:00 p.m. and the Virginia-Syracuse game will start at5:30p.m.The starting times were changed so the Virginia women’s basketballteam’sgame with Syracuse would not conflict with the Virginia football team’sgame with Illinois in the Micronpc.com Bowl. The Bowl game will beginat7:00 p.m. and will be televised on TBS.The starting times for the first day of the Nationwide Cavalier ClassiconDec. 29 remain the same.

ACC Action Heats Up For January

The Cavaliers open the new year with two home ACC contests. GeorgiaTechvisits University Hall on Jan. 3 followed by a tilt with the Tar HeelsonJan. 6.Virginia is 0-1 in ACC action this year with the loss coming at Duke onDec. 5 by a score of 83-62.The Cavaliers get a break from conference action when they travel toKentState on Jan. 24 and host Arkansas State on Feb. 13.

How the Teams Match Up: Virginia vs. Siena

Virginia Siena
Points 73.4 72.1
Points Allowed 70.0 78.3
Rebounds 37.6 38.8
Rebound Margin -0.8 +3.3
FG % .435 .434
FG% defense .386 .461
3-pt FG % .284 (42-148) .308 (44-143)
FT % .722 .674
Assists 15.8 16.6
Turnovers 18.3 22.0
Blocks 2.9 1.9
Steals 9.3 9.3

Stovall Leaves Team

Junior guard Erin Stovall has taken a personal leave of absence from theVirginia women’s basketball team for an indefinite period of time.Stovall,a two-year starter and a pre-season first team All-ACC selection, rankssecond on the team in scoring this season with 13.9 points per game.Shewas replaced in the starting line-up in the Virginia Tech game bysophomoreTelisha Quarles. Quarles scored 12 points and grabbed four reboundsagainstthe Hokies on Dec. 20.Head Coach Debbie Ryan indicated that Stovall’s return to the team isuncertain at this time. Ryan will comment on Stovall in the post-gamepress conference.

Win Over Tech Boosts Cavaliers

Four of the five starters scored in double figures as the Cavaliersdefeated state rival Virginia Tech 67-62 on Dec. 20. Svetlana VolnayaledVirginia with 13 points, followed by Telisha Quarles with 12, SchuyeLaRueand Renee Robinson each had 10 and the fifth starter, Lisa Hosac hadninepoints.The win boosted the confidence of the Cavaliers who overcame a 13-0deficitat the beginning of the game and thwarted several comeback bids by theHokies who had been ranked in the polls earlier in the season. Virginiawas also playing without junior guard Erin Stovall who left the team theweek before due to personal reasons and rallied despite her absence.

Quarles On A Hot Streak

Sophomore guard Telisha Quarles has scored in double figures in the lastfour games. During that stretch, she hit a career-high 19 points vs. OldDominion (Dec. 20) breaking her previous career-high of 17 she setagainstDuke (Dec. 5).In the last four games, Quarles has averaged 15.3 ppg and has been theCavaliers’ leading scorer in two of the four games. Last season, sheaveraged 2.2 ppg. She is averaging 18.0 ppg vs. ranked opponents thisyear.

Dominant Rebounder Still MIA

Virginia is still in a quest for a dominant force on the boards thisseason. Not since Wendy Palmer graduated in 1996 has a Cavalier had amajor presence under the boards.Freshman Schuye LaRue leads the squad in rebounding (6.2 rpg) thisseasonwhile senior Lisa Hosac and junior Svetlana Volnaya follow with 4.6 rpgand4.4 rpg, respectively.LaRue has had the Cavaliers’ only game with double figures in reboundswith14 vs. Texas (Nov. 27).

Mitchelson Returns to Line-up

After sitting out six games with a separated right shoulder, juniorforwardDean’na Mitchelson returned to action on Dec. 10 vs. Old Dominion.Mitchelson played only two minutes in the season opener vs. St. Joseph’sbefore suffering the injury and had not seen action in any games untiltheCavaliers met ODU. Against the Monarchs, Mitchelson nearly had a double-double with ninepoints and nine rebounds in only 22 minutes of action.

Hosac Lifts Cavaliers To Win Over Loyola

Senior Lisa Hosac took command of the offense and scored a season-high22points to lead Virginia to a win over Loyola on Tuesday. Hosac, who hadbeen averaging just 7.3 points per game, exploded for 11 points in thefirst half on 4-8 shooting from the field, including 1-1 fromthree-pointrange. She was more deadly in the second half going 5-7 from the field.She also led the team with seven rebounds, tied with Svetlana Volnaya.

Quarles Hits Career-High Against Blue Devils

One of the bright spots in Sunday’s loss at Duke was the emergence ofsophomore Telisha Quarles. The native of Louisa, Va. led Virginia with17points against Duke with 14 of those points coming in the second half.Shewas 7-10 from the field in the second half. Her previous career-highwaseight points which she set three times this year in the St. Joseph’s,Grambling, and Washington games.

Tough Start For the Cavaliers

The 4-4 start this season in its first eight games of the season isVirginia’s worst start since the 1977-78 season when they opened 3-5.Thatwas also Head Coach Debbie Ryan’s first season as head coach atVirginia.The team finished 8-17 that year.

In the ACCS

Freshman Schuye LaRue has made an impact on the Virginia squad as wellasin the ACC statistics. As of Dec. 22, LaRue leads the conference infieldgoal percentage (.630, 58-92) and is the league’s sixth leading scorer(14.3 ppg).Senior Renee Robinson ranks second in assists (4.6 apg) and seventh insteals (2.3 spg).

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