Eight Virginia stars named to ACC anniversary team
Eight former Virginia women's basketball players were honored with a position on the 51-member 50th anniversary ACC women's team. Cavaliers Val Ackerman, Heather Burge, Tonya Cardoza, Dena Evans, Donna Holt, Wendy Palmer, Tammi Reiss and Dawn Staley were among the honorees named by ACC Commissioner John Swofford yesterday.
Ackerman received the Jettie Hill Award for the highest GPA among female athletes. A two-time All-ACC selection, Ackerman is now president of the WNBA and sits on the board of directors of USA Basketball. Burge ranks No. 2 on both Virginia's all-time scoring and rebounding lists.
Cardoza was a 1991 All-American and holds the No. 8 spot on Virginia's career scoring list. She is currently an assistant basketball coach for Connecticut's women's program. Evans, a member of three consecutive Final-Four teams, was a 1993 Academic All-American. Holt holds the Virginia and ACC records for career steals.
Palmer holds the Virginia career record with 1,221 rebounds, and was the first to register 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She recently finished her sixth year in the WNBA.
During her 1989-1992 tenure as a Cavalier, Reiss was a 1992 All-American and three-time All-Academic honor roll selection. She has just completed her second season as assistant coach to the WNBA's Utah Starzz.
Staley was a US Basketball Association Player of the Year and 1991 Sports Illustrated Player of the Year. Though currently the head coach for the women's program at Temple, Staley she continues to play for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting.
-- Compiled by Jennifer Mbagwu