Dec. 14, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Virginia’s Monica Wright and Georgia Tech’s Sharena Taylor earned Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, for the week ending Dec. 13. Wright scored 30 points en route to collecting her fourth weekly accolade and first of the 2009-10 season, while Taylor earns her first career weekly conference nod after tallying career-highs in points and assists coming off the bench for Georgia Tech last week.

Wright, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, scored 30 points for the 19th ranked Cavaliers and tied a career high with nine steals in the squad’s 74-43 win over Furman. The guard from Woodbridge, Va., added seven assists and eight rebounds vs. the Paladins. Wright finished 10-for-16 from the field with two 3-pointers and was 8-for-12 from the charity stripe. It was the senior’s third 30-point game of the season.

With 1,990 career points, Wright is chasing Virginia’s all-time scoring record, which was set by Dawn Staley (2,135 points). In addition, Wright is currently third in the league in scoring with a 20.4 points per game average, second in steals (3.6 spg) and sixth in rebounding (7.6 rpg).

Taylor helped her Yellow Jackets to an 89-41 victory over Mississippi Valley State last week. The rookie from Pontiac, Mich., finished with career-highs in points (12) and assists (7) in 26 minutes off the bench. Taylor ran the Tech offense from the point guard position and finished with only one turnover in the game. In addition, her seven assists were the most by a Yellow Jacket player in a game this season.

Virginia has an 11 day break from competition for final exams. The Cavaliers will return to action on Dec. 20 at Georgia. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Georgia Tech will continue its five games in nine days swing Wednesday evening, when the team hosts Oregon as part of a doubleheader with the men's team. Tip-off at Alexander Memorial Coliseum is slated for 6 p.m.