Feb. 15, 2010

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Virginia senior guard Monica Wright and Duke freshman center Allison Vernerey earned this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week honors for the period ending Feb. 14. Wright, who averaged 29 points per game over a tough 2-0 week on the road for the Cavaliers, collected her league-leading seventh career weekly honor, while Vernerey earned her second Rookie of the Week nod after helping Duke to a 3-0 week in her first three collegiate starts.

Preseason Player of the Year Wright shot 51.2 percent from the field and was near perfect from the free throw line (10-11) in posting a pair of wins for the Cavs. In Virginia’s 82-68 victory over Maryland, Wright opened the second half by scoring 12-consecutive points, finishing with 34 points for her fifth 30-plus scoring performance of the season. She also added four steals in the win. Against Miami, Wright was the Cavaliers’ high-scorer with 24 points, to go along with three steals and six rebounds. The Woodbridge, Va., native added four 3-pointers on the week en route to collecting her fourth Player of the Week honor this season and 66th all-time among Virginia student-athletes.

With a total of 58 points on the week, Wright extended her school-record for career points to 2,351, and currently sits in fourth place in ACC history. She leads the league in points and steals with averages of 22.7 points and 3.8 steals per game. Wright also holds the top two single-game ACC steal tallies with 10 takeaways vs. Liberty (Dec. 29) and nine against Furman (Dec. 8).

Vernerey made her first three collegiate starts this week and helped lead Duke to victories over 18th-ranked North Carolina, NC State and Virginia Tech. Against 18th-ranked North Carolina and in front of a national television audience, the Alsace, France, native posted her first collegiate start, notching 10 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 28 minutes of action. In just her second career start, the freshman center registered 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in only 27 minutes of action against NC State. At Virginia Tech on Sunday, Vernerey was saddled with foul trouble and played only 17 minutes; however, she tallied five rebounds and two points. Averaging double-figures (10.7 points) for the week, Vernerey’s 20-point, 10-rebound showing against NC State was her second double-double of the season.

ACC women’s basketball action continues tonight as four league teams square off at 7 p.m. ET. Florida State travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech in a regional sports network (RSN) contest, while North Carolina battles Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., as part of the “Pink Zone” ESPN2 initiative.