# 1991–92 Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team

The 1991–92 Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 1991–92 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cavaliers were led by 15th-year head coach Debbie Ryan, and played their home games at University Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia as members the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This season resulted in Virginia's third straight Final Four appearance. After a heartbreaking loss in overtime in the 1991 National championship game, the Lady Cavs fell painfully close again by losing to Stanford in the National semifinals by a single point, 66–65, after owning a 7-point lead with under eight minutes remaining.
Senior Dawn Staley capped an incredible career by repeating as National Player of the Year. The team went 63–5 over the past two seasons and spent that entire span ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP poll.

## Schedule

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1991* | No. 2 | Fairfield | W 110–64 | 1–0 | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan 15, 1992 | No. 1 | No. 3 Maryland | L 65–67 | 13–1 (3–1) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb 11, 1992 | No. 2 | at No. 1 Maryland | W 75–74 | 21–1 (11–1) | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland |
| Feb 15, 1992 | No. 2 | Duke | W 93–48 | 22–1 (12–1) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb 17, 1992* | No. 1 | Connecticut | W 64–43 | 23–1 | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb 22, 1992 | No. 1 | at No. 19 Clemson | W 85–81 | 24–1 (13–1) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Feb 26, 1992 | No. 1 | North Carolina | W 65–52 | 25–1 (14–1) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb 29, 1992 | No. 1 | at NC State | W 76–74 | 26–1 (15–1) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| ACC tournament ||||||
| March 7, 1992* | No. 1 | vs. Duke Quarterfinals | W 81–55 | 27–1 | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, South Carolina |
| March 8, 1992* | No. 1 | vs. North Carolina Semifinals | W 74–55 | 28–1 | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, South Carolina |
| March 9, 1992* | No. 1 | vs. Georgia Tech Championship game | W 70–69 | 29–1 | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, South Carolina |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 22, 1992* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (8 E) No. 14 George Washington Second round | W 97–58 | 30–1 | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| March 26, 1992* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (4 E) No. 14 West Virginia Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 103–83 | 31–1 | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| March 28, 1992* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (3 E) No. 13 Vanderbilt Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 70–58 | 32–1 | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| April 4, 1992* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (1 W) No. 3 Stanford National Semifinal – Final Four | L 65–66 | 32–2 | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| *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 | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not released |
| Coaches | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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