Jan. 25, 2010

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Virginia senior guard Monica Wright and Florida State freshman forward Chasity Clayton earned this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week honors for the period ending Jan. 24. Wright, who averaged 29.7 points per game over a tough 3-0 week for the Cavaliers, and Clayton, who has been an integral part of the Seminoles’ active four-game win streak, both were near-unanimous selections.

Preseason Player of the Year Wright posted 27 points and had two blocks in the No. 24 Cavaliers’ 70-56 win at Virginia Tech on Jan. 18, before tallying an ACC season-high 39 points at Boston College on Jan. 21, the second-highest single-game total in school history. En route to her third ACC Player of the Week honor this season, and sixth all-time, Wright scored a game-high 23 points in leading Virginia to a 57-55 win over visiting No. 22 Georgia Tech on Jan. 24. The senior from Woodbridge, Va., has now scored 20 or more points in 12 of the Cavaliers’ 19 games this season, and has led the Wahoos in each of the last 12 games, averaging 25 points per game over that stretch. In addition, Wright contributed 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game over last week’s three contests.

With a total of 89 points on the week, Wright extended her school record for career points to 2,229, and currently sits in eighth and 10th place in ACC history in points and points per game (18.4), respectively. She currently leads the league in points (22.3) and steals (3.7), and holds the top two single-game steal tallies with 10 takeaways vs. Liberty (Dec. 29) and nine against Furman (Dec. 8).

Clayton turned in back-to-back double-double performances in wins over Harvard and Boston College last week. The rookie from Alexandria, Va., posted her first career double-double with then-career-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds against Harvard on Jan. 21, before scoring 21 points and adding 11 boards against Boston College on Jan. 24. Clayton connected on 66.7 percent of her shots over the two home victories and had averages of 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds. The forward entered the starting lineup following the loss at Miami (Jan. 10) and has been a key factor in FSU’s four-game winning streak, averaging 13.0 points and 8.8 rebounds as a starter.

In her rookie campaign, Clayton currently ranks eighth in scoring (8.4), sixth in rebounding (5.5), eighth in field goal percentage (49.3), and second in 3-point percentage (44.4) among ACC active freshmen.

ACC women’s basketball action continues tonight as nearby rivals North Carolina and NC State battle in Raleigh, N.C. (Reynolds Coliseum). The game will be televised on the league’s regional sports network at 7 p.m.

For more information on ACC women’s basketball, log onto theACC.com. Be sure to check out the new version of the league’s “She Can Play” theme song – The Remix – on theACC.com/SheCanPlay.

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