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Feb. 24, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia makes its final road trip of the regular season when it travels to College Park, Md. to face Maryland on Thursday. Virginia can clinch the top seed in the tournament with a win in one of its final two regular season games.
The Cavaliers are on a four-game winning streak and have won 17 of its last 19 games.
With the upset of seventh-ranked N.C. State on Sunday, Virginia is 4-0 against Top 10 teams this season.
The Cavaliers held N.C. State to a season-low 26.4 percent from the floor (19-72) and 5.0 percent from three-point range (1-20). In the last three games, Virginia has held its opponents to a combined .330 (64-194) from the field.
Telisha Quarles continued her aerial display from long range by hitting 4-6 from beyond the arc in the N.C. State game on Sunday. In the last two games, Quarles has hit a combined 7-11 (.636) from the arc.
Freshman Schuye LaRue continued her bid for ACC Rookie of the Year honors with her second straight double-double, 10 points, 11 rebounds vs. N.C. State. She also had a career-high six blocks and was 1-1 from long range.
Virginia has won 20 or more games 16 times in the last 17 years. Head Coach Debbie Ryan has won 20 or more games 18 times in her 23-year career.
#16 Virginia: (21-6, 12-2) at MARYLAND (13-12, 4-10)
Feb. 24, 2000 – 7:30 p.m.
Cole Field House (14,500) College Park, Md.
Radio: WINA 1070 AM
TV: none
Series With Maryland
Today’s game marks the 53rd meeting between Virginia and Maryland and the Cavaliers hold a 32-20 advantage in the series. The series with the Terrapins is one of Virginia’s oldest and longest continuous rivalries, dating back to the 1976-77 season.
The Cavaliers have won the last 17 meetings with Maryland and the Cavaliers are 11-10 versus the Terps in Cole Fieldhouse. The last time Virginia lost at Maryland was on Jan. 20, 1993 when the Terps handed the Cavaliers a 70-66 loss.The Last Time vs. the Terrapins Svetlana Volnaya scored 17 of her 28 points in the second half to lift Virginia to a 76-68 win over conference rival Maryland on Jan. 15 in Charlottesville. Volnaya was 6-7 from the field and hit two three pointers all in the second half. Maryland senior guard Tiffany Brown sank six three-pointers to lead the Terps with 25 points.
Virginia (12-4 overall, 4-1 ACC) trailed by four points at half-time 36-32 before Volnaya ignited a 7-2 run to start the second half. Her jumper at 18:16 put Virginia ahead by one, 42-41 for Virginia’s first lead since the 10:06 mark of the first half. The lead changed hands on nearly every possession for the next 10:18 of the second half before Volnaya’s running jumper at the 7:58 mark put Virginia in the lead for good. Maryland’s Renneika Razor hit a 10-foot jumper in the lane with 7:03 to bring Maryland to within one 64-63, but Maryland connected on only 2-6 free throws during the final stretch while Virginia was 8-9 from the line.
For Virginia, freshman forward Schuye LaRue added 13 points for the Cavaliers, senior forward Lisa Hosac had 10 points and eight rebounds and junior forward Dean’na Mitchelson came off the bench and scored 11 points.Sophomore forward Deedee Warley and sophomore center Rosita Melbourne each had 11 for the Terrapins.
Probable Starters
| F | 15 | Svetlana Volnaya (Minsk, Belarus) | 6-1 | Jr. | 13.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg |
| F | 20 | Lisa Hosac (Littleton, Colo.) | 6-2 | Sr. | 8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg |
F 45 Schuye LaRue (Washington, D.C.) 6-3 Fr. 14.1 ppg, 7.9 rpgG 10 Telisha Quarles (Louisa, Va.) 5-8 So. 12.0 ppg, 2.8 rpgG 5 Renee Robinson (E. Palo Alto, Calif.) 5-6 Sr. 9.1 ppg, 4.9 apg
Key Reserves
| G | 12 | Katie Tracy (Richmond, Va.) | 5-5 | Jr. | 1.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg |
| F | 00 | Dean’na Mitchelson (Bakersfield,Calif.) | 6-2 | Jr. | 3.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg |
| F | 33 | Chalois Lias (Newport News, Va.) | 6-1 | Jr. | 2.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg |
| C | 14 | Elena Kravchenko (Minsk, Belarus) | 6-10 | Jr. | 3.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg |
How the Teams Match Up
| ? | Virginia | Maryland |
| Scoring | 72.8 | 68.2 |
| Points Allowed | 64.9 | 65.4 |
| Rebounds | 36.7 | 37.6 |
| Rebound Margin | -1.8 | -3.0 |
| FG % | .442 | .415 |
| FG% defense | .375 | .414 |
| 3-pt FG % | .325 | .339 |
| 3-pt FG/game | 5.2 | 4.9 |
| FT % | .705 | .600 |
| Assists | 15.1 | 15.6 |
| Turnovers | 17.4 | 18.2 |
| Blocks | 3.9 | 2.3 |
| Steals | 9.3 | 11.5 |
Cavaliers Sweep Weekly Honors
Virginia’s Telisha Quarles and Schuye LaRue claim this week’s ACC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors respectively. The pair helped Virginia to capture two critical wins which gave them the lead in the conference standings.
Quarles, a sophomore guard, earns ACC Player of the Week for the first time in her career for leading the Cavaliers to wins over Clemson and seventh-ranked N.C. State. For the week, Quarles led Virginia with 14.0 points per game, 3.0 assists per game and 2.5 steals per game. She shot 64 percent from three-point range (7-11) along with a 75 percent (3-4) mark from the charity stripe. In the Cavaliers’ 60-51 win over N.C. State, Quarles recorded a team-high 17 points and was 4-6 from three-point range. Fourteen of her 17 points came in the first half when the rest of the team was just 6-21 from the field.
Rookie of the Week honors are claimed for the fourth time by forward Schuye LaRue who had a double-double in both games last week. Against Clemson, she scored 13 points and led the team with 13 rebounds and then scored 10 points and had 11 rebounds against N.C. State. In the game against the Wolfpack, LaRue also recorded a career-high six blocks, the most by any league player this season. For the week, LaRue averaged 11.5 points and 12 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor.
Virginia Ties School Record with 11 Threes
In Virginia’s win over Clemson on Feb. 17, the Cavaliers tied the school record for three-point field goals made in a game with 11. Svetlana Volnaya led the way for Virginia with 4-4 shooting from long range and while Lisa Hosac and Telisha Quarles each were 3-5 from the arc. Schuye LaRue added one as the Cavaliers shot a season best 68.8 percent (11-16) from long range.
The shooting performance ended a three-game slump from three-point range in which the Cavaliers shot a combined 26.0% (13-50).
Defense The Name of the Game
Not one opponent has shot over 50 percent from the field against the Cavaliers this season. In fact, only 12 opponents have shot over 40 percent and 15 have shot less than 40 percent from the field.
In the last three games, Virginia’s opponents have shot a combined .330 (64-194) from the field.
Virginia is 14-1 when holding the opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field.
Best Start To ACC Season in Five Years
This is the best start to an ACC season for the Cavaliers since the 1994-95 season. That year, Virginia had a 15-0 conference record through the first 15 games and went on to an undefeated 16-0 conference record becoming the first team, either men’s or women’s, to post a 16-0 ACC record. Duke’s men’s team accomplished the feat several years later.
In the polls
Virginia jumped five spots in the AP poll to number 16 and and six spots to number 16 in the USA Today poll. Virginia has been ranked for five straight weeks. The Cavaliers entered the polls for the first time this season on Jan. 24 and were ranked 24th in the USA Today poll and 25 in the AP poll. Virginia is ranked 15th in the latest RPI ranking.
Robinson Having A Great Year
With two games remaining in the regular season, Renee Robinson already has 133 assists for the season, surpassing her total of 88 she had as a junior. Robinson worked hard over the summer to get ready for her senior season and the hard work has paid off. She currently leads the ACC in assists (4.9 apg) and has had six or more assists in nine games this year. She matched her career-high of nine assists in the N.C. State win (Jan. 17).
“I have never had a player improve from one year to the next as much as Renee,” said Head Coach Debbie Ryan. “She went from someone who was not a leader to become a leader of this team. She is making big plays at the end of games. She has done it in almost every game in one way or another.”
Robinson is also averaging 9.1 points per game this season which is 6.1 points over her career average coming into this season. She netted a career-high 24 points in the win over ninth-ranked North Carolina (Jan. 6) and produced 19 points in the win over sixth-ranked N.C. State. She also led the Cavaliers with 15 points in the upset over ninth-ranked Duke.
In her previous three seasons, she had only recorded double figures in scoring twice but this year alone has scored in double figures in 11 games. She is averaging 12.5 ppg vs. ranked opponents this season and 15.0 ppg vs. ranked ACC opponents.
LaRue Leads All ACC Rookies In Scoring
Schuye LaRue is the ACC’s top scoring rookie is a strong candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year. She is averaging 14.1 points per game and 7.9 rebounds which ranks her sixth in scoring and tied for fifth in rebounding in the ACC. She is the league leader in field goal percentage (.581) and ranks second in blocks (1.5 bpg).
She currently leads the Cavaliers in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks.
The Schuye’s the Limit
If Schuye LaRue continues to lead the Cavaliers in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, she will will match Cathy Grimes (1982) as the only other freshman in Virginia history to achieve the feat. Grimes and Dawn Staley (1989) were the only other freshmen to lead the team in scoring while Chrissy Reese (1980), Grimes and Heather Burge (l990) all were the top rebounders as rookies.
Rising to the Occasion
Both Renee Robinson and Telisha Quarles have risen to the occasion when playing ranked opponents this year. Robinson is averaging 12.5 ppg vs. ranked opponents while Quarles is getting 15.5 ppg vs. ranked opponents. Below is a comparison of what they’ve done overall and against top teams:
| ? | season average |
vs. ranked opponents |
vs. ranked ACC opponents |
| Quarles | 12.0 ppg | 15.5 ppg | 14.8 ppg |
| Robinson | 9.1 ppg | 12.5 ppg | 15.0 ppg |
Robinson Moving On Up In Assists and Steals
Renee Robinson has 359 assists for her career which puts her in 8th place in Virginia history. She entered the season with 226 assists and with her 133 assists this season, she moved ahead of Melissa Mahony in eighth place. Below is ranking of Virginia’s Top 10 assist leaders:
| 1. | Dawn Staley (1989-92) | 729 |
| 2. | Donna Holt (1985-88) | 561 |
| 3. | Dena Evans (1990-93) | 528 |
| 4. | Tora Suber (1994-97) | 504 |
| 5. | Nancy Mayer (l984-87) | 420 |
| 6. | Jenny Boucek (l993-96) | 397 |
| 7. | Tammi Reiss (1989-92) | 380 |
| 8. | Renee Robinson (1997-present) | 359 |
| 9. | Melissa Mahoney (l979-82) | 312 |
| 10. | Kim Silloway (1983-86) | 310 |
Robinson also is in the Top 10 in steals, holding onto eighth place. Below is the ranking of Virginia’s Top 10 steals leaders:
| 1. | Donna Holt (1985-88) | 529 |
| 2. | Dawn Staley (1989-92) | 454 |
| 3. | Tonya Cardoza (1987-91) | 375 |
| 4. | Nancy Mayer (1984-87) | 240 |
| 5. | Daphne Hawkins (1985-88) | 228 |
| 6. | Tora Suber (1994-97) | 223 |
| 7. | Wendy Palmer (l993-96) | 219 |
| 8. | Renee Robinson (1997-present) | 198 |
| 9. | DeMya Walker (1996-99) | 192 |
| 10. | Heather Burge (1990-93) | 185 |
Ryan Holds Advantage vs. Current ACC Coaches
Debbie Ryan holds a 150-70 record against the current coaches in the ACC and holds a winning record versus every coach in the conference.
Ryan vs. Jim Davis, Clemson 21-11 Gail Goestenkors, Duke 10-7 Sue Semrau, Florida St. 6-0 Agnus Berenato, Georgia Tech 25-3 Chris Weller, Maryland 32-19 Sylvia Hatchell, North Carolina 23-10 Kay Yow, N.C. State 27-20 Charlene Curtis, Wake Forest 6-0 150-70
Ryan vs. Clemson 28-21 Duke 32-12 Florida State 18-0 Georgia Tech 42-4 Maryland 32-19 North Carolina 26-25 N.C. State 27-20 Wake Forest 43-1 248-102
Volnaya Wins Second ACC Honor in Three Weeks
Svetlana Volnaya was named the ACC Player of the Week (Jan. 31), the second honor in three weeks. She gained her second award for leading the Cavaliers to two wins over Wake Forest and Duke. For the week, she averaged 15.7 points and four rebounds per game. In the Wake Forest game, she scored 13 of her 20 points in the second half to lead the team with 20 points. Against Duke, she connected for nine points and grabbed five rebounds.
LaRue Named Rookie of the Week For Third Time
Schuye LaRue was given the nod as the ACC Rookie of the Week (Jan. 31), her third honor of the season. LaRue averaged 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in the Cavaliers three contests against Kent, Wake Forest and #9 Duke. The Washington D.C. native shot 58 percent (18 for 31) from the floor in the three games as well as 33 percent (2 for 6) from behind the arc and 100 percent (5 for 5) from the line. LaRue also had two double-doubles for the week against Wake Forest and Duke.
Volnaya Grabs First ACC Honor
Junior forward Svetlana Volnaya was named the ACC Player of the Week (Jan. 17) after scoring 28 points and shooting .648 percent (11 for 17) from the floor in the Cavaliers 76-68 win over Maryland. She scored 17 of her 28 points in the second half to help erase a four-point halftime deficit. She was 2-5 from three-point range and 4-4 from the free throw line. This was the first time Volnaya was named the Player of the Week.
The Cavalier’s record when they:
| led at half-time: | 16-1 |
| trailed at half-time: | 3-3 |
| were tied at half-time: | 2-2 |
| went into overtime: | 1-1 |
| shot 60% or better: | 0-0 |
| shot 50% or better: | 7-0 |
| shot less than 50%: | 14-6 |
| shot less than 40%: | 5-3 |
| opponent shot 50% or better: | 0-0 |
| opponent shot less than 50%: | 21-6 |
| opponent shot less than 40%: | 14-1 |
| had higher FG% than opponent: | 19-4 |
| had lower FG% than opponent: | 2-3 |
| out-rebounded opponent: | 8-2 |
| were out-rebounded by opponent: | 12-4 |
| had same rebounds as opponent: | 1-0 |
| had more offensive rebounds: | 8-3 |
| had fewer offensive rebounds: | 11-2 |
| had same offensive rebounds: | 2-1 |
| had fewer turnovers than opponent: | 13-1 |
| had more turnovers than opponent: | 6-3 |
| had same amount of turnovers: | 2-2 |
| shot more FTs than opponent: | 14-0 |
| shot fewer FTs than opponent: | 6-6 |
| shot same number of FTs as opponent: | 1-0 |
| had game decided by 10 points or less: | 10-2 |
| had game decided by 5 points or less: | 5-2 |
| scored 100+ points: | 1-0 |
| scored 90-99 points: | 0-0 |
| scored 80-89 points: | 6-0 |
| scored 70-79 points: | 8-2 |
| scored 60-69 points: | 4-4 |
| scored 59 or less points: | 2-0 |
| leading scorer is Hosac: | 3-0 |
| leading scorer is LaRue: | 4-3 |
| leading scorer is Quarles: | 3-3 |
| leading scorer is Stovall: | 2-0 |
| leading scorer is Volnaya: | 6-0 |
| leading scorer is Robinson: | 2-0 |
| leading scorer is Mitchelson: | 1-0 |
Virginia’s record on:
Sunday 5-2Monday 4-2Tuesday 1-0Wednesday 1-0Thursday 8-0Friday 1-1Saturday 1-1TV 4-1
In the Polls
Week of AP USA Today
Preseason 25thJan. 24 25th 24thJan. 31 24th 23rdFeb. 7 22nd 21stFeb. 14 21st 22ndFeb. 21 16th 16th
1999-2000 Individual Honors
Schuye LaRueRainbow Wahine Classic All-Tournament TeamNationwide Cavalier Classic Most Valuable PlayerACC Rookie of the Week (Nov. 30)ACC Rookie of the Week (Jan. 3)ACC Rookie of the Week (Jan. 31)ACC Rookie of the Week (Feb. 21)HTS Player of the Game (Jan. 30)ESPN2 Player of the Game (Feb. 20)
Svetlana VolnayaNationwide Cavalier Classic All-Tournament TeamACC Player of the Week (Jan. 17)ACC Player of the Week (Jan. 31)
Telisha QuarlesACC Player of the Week (Feb. 21)
Renee RobinsonHTS Player of the Game (Jan. 17)
Starting Line-upsHosac, Mitchlsn,Stovall,Robinson,Quarles 0-1Hosac, LaRue, Stovall, Robinson, Quarles 1-0Hosac, Lias, LaRue, Stovall, Robinson 1-1Hosac, Volnaya, LaRue, Stovall, Robinson 1-2Hosac, Volnaya, Kravch., Stovall, Robinson 1-0Hosac, Volnaya, LaRue, Quarles, Robinson. 16-2Hosac, Volnaya, Mitchlson, Quarles, Robinson 1-0