1990–91 Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team

1990–91 Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball
1990–91 Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball
ACC regular season champion
NCAA tournament, Runner-up
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	31–3 (14–0 ACC)
Head coach	Debbie Ryan (14th season);
Assistant coaches	Frank DiLeo; Shawn Campbell; Melissa Wiggins;
Home arena	University Hall

1990–91 ACC women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2	14	–	0	1.000	31	–	3	.912
No. 7 NC State †	9	–	5	.643	27	–	6	.818
Maryland	9	–	5	.643	17	–	13	.567
No. 21 Clemson	8	–	6	.571	22	–	11	.667
Duke	6	–	8	.429	16	–	12	.571
Wake Forest	5	–	9	.357	15	–	13	.536
Georgia Tech	3	–	11	.214	15	–	13	.536
North Carolina	2	–	12	.143	12	–	16	.429

† 1991 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1990–91 Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 1990–91 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cavaliers were led by 14th-year head coach Debbie Ryan, and played their home games at University Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia as members the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In contrast to the prior season when the Cavaliers reached the Final Four, this Virginia squad was considered one of the favorites to win the National championship. The Lady Cavs opened play as the No. 1 ranked team and only occupied that spot or the No. 2 spot for the entirety of the season. They swept through ACC play at 14–0, but lost in the semifinals of the ACC tournament to Clemson. Despite the loss, UVA received the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament. Virginia defeated Stephen F. Austin, Oklahoma State, and Lamar to make a return trip to the Final Four. A victory over UConn in the National semifinals set up a matchup with Tennessee in the National championship game. The Lady Vols, led by legendary head coach Pat Summitt defeated Virginia, 70–67, to capture the title. The Cavaliers finished the season with a record of 31–3.

Junior Dawn Staley established the single-season school record for assists with 235. Staley was consensus National Player of the Year and is the only player to be named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament when her team did not win the championship.

Roster

1990–91 Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	10	Dena Evans	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	So		Deer Park, TX
G	15	Tina Toney	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Sr		Jacksonville, FL
F	20	Tekshia Ward	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Sr		College Park, GA
F/C	21	Melanee Wagener	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Jr		Mount Airy, MD
F	23	Tonya Cardoza (C)	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Sr		Roxbury, MA
G	24	Dawn Staley	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Jr	Dobbins Tech	Philadelphia, PA
C	30	Heather Burge	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	So	Palos Verdes	Palos Verdes Estates, CA
G	32	Tammi Reiss	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Jr	Eldred Central School	Eldred, NY
F	33	Wendy Toussaint	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	Palos Verdes	Irvington, NJ
C	34	Heidi Burge	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	So		Palos Verdes Estates, CA
F	44	Allison Moore	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	So		Virginia Beach, VA
F	52	Felicia Santelli	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Jr		Scarsdale, NY
F/C	54	Audra Smith	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Jr		Milledgeville, GA

Head coach

Debbie Ryan (Ursinus)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Source:^[1]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1990*	No. 1	Virginia Tech	W 93–44	2–0	University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 3, 1991*	No. 1	No. 4 Penn State	L 71–73	11–1	University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 12, 1991	No. 2	at No. 3 NC State	W 123–120 ^3OT	14–1 (3–0)	Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina
February 23, 1991	No. 1	No. 7 NC State	W 95–78	26–1 (14–0)	University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
ACC tournament
March 2, 1991*	No. 1	vs. North Carolina Quarterfinals	W 90–69	27–1	Civic Center Fayetteville, North Carolina
March 3, 1991*	No. 1	vs. Clemson Semifinals	L 62–65^[2]	27–2	Civic Center Fayetteville, North Carolina
NCAA tournament
March 17, 1991*	No. 2	vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin Second round	W 74–71	28–2	University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
March 21, 1991*	No. 2	vs. No. 25 Oklahoma State Midwest Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 76–61	29–2	Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas
March 23, 1991*	No. 2	vs. No. 24 Lamar Midwest Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 85–70	30–2	Frank Erwin Center (5,259) Austin, Texas
March 30, 1991*	No. 2	vs. No. 13 UConn National Semifinal – Final Four	W 61–55^[3]	31–2	Lakefront Arena New Orleans, Louisiana
March 31, 1991*	No. 2	vs. No. 4 Tennessee National Championship	L 67–70 ^{OT^[4]}	31–3	Lakefront Arena New Orleans, Louisiana
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	Not released
Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	2	2

Awards and honors

Dawn Staley – ACC Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA Player of the Year, WBCA Player of the Year, Honda Sports Award
Debbie Ryan – ACC Coach of the Year, Naismith College Coach of the Year

References

^ "1990-91 Women's Basketball Schedule". virginiasports.com. The University of Virginia. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
^ "Top-Ranked Virginia Ousted by Clemson". The Washington Post. March 3, 1991. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
^ "Virginia Advances to Women's Final". The Washington Post. March 31, 1991. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
^ "Virginia Loses Women's Final in Overtime". The Washington Post. April 1, 1991. Retrieved February 19, 2024.

[1] "1990-91 Women's Basketball Schedule". virginiasports.com. The University of Virginia. Retrieved November 21, 2023.

[2] "Top-Ranked Virginia Ousted by Clemson". The Washington Post. March 3, 1991. Retrieved February 19, 2024.

[3] "Virginia Advances to Women's Final". The Washington Post. March 31, 1991. Retrieved February 19, 2024.

[4] "Virginia Loses Women's Final in Overtime". The Washington Post. April 1, 1991. Retrieved February 19, 2024.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball
Venues	University Hall (1974–2006) John Paul Jones Arena (2006–present)
Rivalries	Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	"The Cavalier Song" "The Good Old Song"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics