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Jan. 17, 2007
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THIS WEEK
Virginia travels to No. 3 Maryland on Friday, Jan. 19 for a 7 p.m. game at the Comcast Center. The game will be televised by the Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports Net South, Comcast Sports Net, SunSports, and New England Sports Network).
The Cavaliers return home to John Paul Jones Arena on Monday, Jan. 22 for a 7 p.m. game with intra-state rival Virginia Tech in the teams’ first meeting of the Commonwealth Challenge series. The Regional Sports Network will televise the game live.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
The third-ranked and defending national champion Terrapins, under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Brenda Frese, stand 18-1 overall and 2-1 in ACC play after a 81-62 loss at No. 3 Duke on Jan. 13. Junior center Crystal Langhorne paces UM with 15.3 ppg and 7.4 rpg. Senior guard Shay Doron follows with 12.7 ppg, while junior forward Laura Harper adds with 12.2 ppg.
SERIES VS. TERRAPINS
Virginia holds a 40-25 series advantage over Maryland since the teams first met in 1977. Last season, the Terps swept the two-game series, winning 84-74 at U-Hall and 85-71 at the Comcast Center.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Virginia plays its third nationally ranked opponent of the season when the team travel to College Park. In Atlantic Coast Conference play, the Cavaliers face defending national champion and No. 3 Maryland twice, No. 1 Duke and No. 2 North Carolina.
Last season, the ACC ranked No. 1 in RPI (rating percentage index) of the 32 conferences. The RPI is derived from winning percentage (25%), schedule strength (50%), and opponent’s schedule strength (25%). In the first RPI for the 2006-07 season, released in Jan 15 by RPIRatings.com, Virginia is No. 31, while the ACC is No. 3.
Under head coach Debbie Ryan, the Virginia Cavaliers have upset 41 opponents ranked ahead of them. UVa has played No. 2 North Carolina and No. 6 Connecticut already this season.
LAST OUTING
Virginia took Boston College to overtime to pull out a 65-63 at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday afternoon before a boisterous crowd of 4,605 fans. The overtime game, the first this season and the first at JPJA, is the 40th in UVa school history. The Cavaliers now stand 23-17 overall in extra innings.
With 1:14 left in OT, freshman Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) nailed a three-pointer that would be the game winner. BC then made one of two free throws for the game’s final score. The Eagles had the ball with 20 seconds on the clock, but turned it over following a jump ball situation. UVa ran out the final five seconds on the clock for the win.
Junior Sharneé Zoll (Marlboro, N.J.) paced Virginia with 16 points, including three treys. Senior Brenna McGuire (Winchester, Mass.) followed with 14 points, including four treys. Wright rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 points and a game-high four steals. Senior Siedah Williams (Cleveland, Ohio) grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
Overall, Virginia out-rebounded BC, 34-31.
IN THE STATISTICS
After 17 contests, sophomore Lyndra Littles leads the Cavaliers with 15.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Freshman Monica Wright follows with 14.0 ppg, while junior Sharneé Zoll adds 11.9 ppg and 92 assists. UVa out-scores its opponents by +6.8 points and out-rebounds its foes by +2.6 boards. In ACC games only, four Cavaliers are averaging double figures. Wright leads UVa in scoring with 15.0 ppg, while Littles follows with 14.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Zoll is third with 11.7 ppg, and McGuire follows with 10.3 ppg.