Dec. 2, 1997

Cavs Put Undefeated Record on the Line

McKinney jpg
Mimi McKinney is averaging 14.0 ppg for Virginia.

Virginia Plays at St. Francis

#9 Virginia (5-0) at St. Francis (3-2)
Dec. 3, 1997 * 7:00 p.m. * Stokes Center

THE GAME: Virginia makes its second of three straight road games with its visit to St. Francis. Virginia is 4-0 at home, 1-0 on the road, and 0-0 at neutral sites this season. The Cavaliers moved up one spot to number nine in the most recent AP poll.

The Cavaliers overcame a four-point first-half deficit to defeat VCU 61-54 on Nov. 29. Mimi McKinney led the team with 19 points and DeMya Walker added 13 points and 14 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season. Erin Stovall was the only other Cavalier in double figures with 12 points. Virginia will be hoping to rebound from its season low 28.8 percent shooting from the field (17-59). That was the lowest shooting percentage by a Virginia team since the 1992 season when it shot 27.1 percent vs. Clemson.

With her 19-point performance against VCU, McKinney now leads the team with 14.0 ppg with Walker second with 7.4 ppg. Walker leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 rpg.

Head Coach Debbie Ryan, in her 21st season, brings a career record of 467-157 (.748) into tonight's game. Ryan is 2-0 vs. St. Francis.

St. Francis (3-2): The Red Flash hosts Virginia for the first time in the series. St. Francis returns from Cancun, Mexico where it lost to Texas Tech 91-35 and defeated Long Beach State 75-60 in the Tourneo Cancun.

Head Coach Jenny Przekwas is in her seventh season and holds a 96-81 career record. She led the Red Flash to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament bid last season and SFPA is picked to repeat as the Northeast Conference champions in 1998.

Series Record: Virginia leads 2-0. The Cavaliers won the first game in the series 102-45 on Dec. 19, 1990. The Cavaliers posted a 71-33 win over the Red Flash on Nov. 26, 1996. Both games were in University Hall. 

Probable Virginia Starters
Pos.    Player          Cl. Ht. Stats
F       Lisa Hosac      Jr. 6-2 8.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg
F       DeMya Walker    Jr. 6-2 13.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg
G       Kate Mooney     Jr. 6-0 6.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G       Mimi McKinney   Sr. 5-9 14.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg
G       Renee Robinson  So. 5-6 4.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg

Reserves
F   Lesley Brown        Jr. 6-0  5.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg
F   Chalois Lias        Fr. 6-0  1.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg
F   Dean'na Mitchelson  Fr. 6-2  1.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg
C   Elena Kravchenko    Fr. 6-10 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
C   Tammy Gardner       Sr. 6-4  0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
G   Erin Stovall        Fr. 5-9  8.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg
G   Lauren Swierczek    So. 5-11 0.0 ppg, 0.3 rpg


How the Teams Match-up
                Virginia    St. Francis
Points          64.4        61.8
Scoring Defense 54.4        70.4
Rebounds        38.6        36.4
Rebound Margin  +2.6        -1.8
FG %            .399        .415
FG% Defense     .377        .434
3-pt FG %       .304        .222
FT %            .633        .629
Assists         13.6        12.8
Turnovers       22.0        23.6
Blocks          6.4         1.6
Steals          12.6        10.6

Last Time Out: McKinney Leads Cavs Past VCU
Virginia used a 8-0 second half run to overcome a five-point second-half deficit to defeat Virginia Commonwealth 61-54 in Richmond, Va. VCU led 28-24 at the break, after closing the first half on a 25-10 run over the last 14 minutes.

Virginia's second half run was started by two DeMya Walker free throws and ended with a Kate Mooney three-pointer, which came after VCU head coach David Glass was whistled for a technical foul at the 14:06 mark.

VCU cut the Virginia edge to 41-39 at the 10:54 mark, but McKinney scored five straight points to put the Cavaliers up for good at 46-39 with 9:59 remaining in the game.

McKinney led Virginia with 19 points, six rebounds and two assists. Walker finished with 13 points and a team-high 14 rebounds and two blocks. Erin Stovall added 12 points.

The Cavaliers shot a season-low 28.8 percent from the field, the lowest mark since the 1992 season.

Next Up For the Cavaliers: Georgia Tech
The Cavaliers travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. Virginia leads the series with the Yellow Jackets 38-3 and the Cavaliers have won 20 of the last 21 contests between the two teams. However, the last time Virginia played at Tech's McDonald Center, the Yellow Jackets beat Virginia 72-60.

Time Change
Please note that the Feb. 15 game vs. North Carolina in University Hall has been changed to 5 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN 2. The original starting time was 4 p.m.

Walker Becomes UVa's All-Time Blocks Leader
DeMya Walker's first block of the season, which came in the 13:06 mark in the second half, established her as the Virginia's all-time blocks leader, eclipsing the mark of 152 set by Heather Burge (1990-93). Walker ended the night with three blocks.

Against Kent, Walker recorded six blocks, one off the school record of seven blocks for a single game. Walker has recorded six or more blocks in four games during her career.

Mooney and McKinney Climb Up the Charts
Kate Mooney and Mimi McKinney are moving up the chart in career three-point field goals made. Mooney has a total of 53 career three-pointers which moves her ahead of Donna Holt (49) in seventh place all-time. McKinney has a total of 49 three-pointers in her career which moves her into a tie with Holt in the career standings.

Tora Suber holds onto first place in career three-pointers with 220.

In the Polls: Virginia moved up one spot to number nine in the AP poll with its two wins last week. The Cavaliers also moved up one spot to number 10 in the USA Today preseason poll.

ACC Leaders: DeMya Walker leads the league in blocked shots (3.4 bpg) and has 17 blocks for the season.

As a team, Virginia leads the league in scoring defense (54.4 ppg), steals (12.6 stp) and blocks (6.4 bpg).

Erin Stovall and Renee Robinson are responsible for the Cavaliers leading the league in steals. Each has 14 steals on the season (2.8 spg) and are tied for second in the conference individual standings. Walker ranks eighth in the league in steals with 11. --stats as of Dec. 1, 1997

Career High: Lisa Hosac recorded a career high 17 points in the season opener vs. William & Mary on Nov. 16.

Double-Double: Lisa Hosac recorded the first double-double of the season with her 12 point, 12 rebound performance against Kent on Nov. 21. Last season, she recorded two double-doubles.

DeMya Walker recorded her first double-double of the year with her 13 point, 14 rebound performance vs. VCU on Nov. 29.

Tall Order: Freshman center Elena Kravchenko is 6-10, making her the tallest player in the ACC, but not in women's college basketball (the tallest player in Division I is 6-11 freshman Gitika Srizastava at Harvard). Kravchenko averaged 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.9 blocks per game last season for Plymouth (Pa.) White Marsh High School.

Defense: Virginia led the nation in field goal percentage defense (.342) in 1997 and ranked 11th in scoring margin (16.6) and 12th in scoring defense (.568).

Home Sweet Home: Virginia has won 106 of its last 113 games (.938) in University Hall since the 1991 season. The Cavaliers are 276-49 (.849) all-time in U-Hall.