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Ryan records 700th win, Virginia wins opener 68-57

Nov 14, 2009 - 2:57 AM CATONSVILLE, Md.(AP) -- Virginia coach Debbie Ryan earned her 700th career victory Friday night, getting 15 second-half points from Monica Wright in a 68-57 win over Maryland-Baltimore County.

Ryan, in her 33rd season at Virginia, is the seventh active Division I women's coach to reach the 700-win mark. She joins Tennessee's Pat Summitt, Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer, North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, Montana's Robin Selvig and Georgia's Andy Landers.

"It's embarrassing to me. ... Those wins belong to the players, the coaches who coach with me, to my administration, to the University of Virginia," Ryan said. "I'm just happy to be a small part of it. I mean, I haven't scored a point for the University of Virginia."

After the game, UMBC coach Phil Stern announced the milestone to the crowd and presented Ryan with the game ball.

"There are people in your business ... that you look up to, and she's one of them," he said.

Chelsea Shine added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won five consecutive season openers. Whitny Edwards had 11 points.

Wright missed her first 12 shots from the field before converting from the baseline to give the Cavaliers a 49-48 lead in the second half, sparking a 13-0 run. Wright capped the burst with a pair of foul shots and a short jumper.

"I started off very slow in the first half, I guess just getting the kinks out," Wright said. "I don't know what was going on. I definitely did a little bit better in the second half. My team got me going, got my wheels turning, getting me the ball in the paint more."

Michelle Kurowski led UMBC with 21 points and Meghan Colabella added 10 points and 12 rebounds. Erin Brown had 11 points for the Retrievers, who shot 4 for 24 from the field in the second half and fell to 0-16 all-time against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The game was tied at 34 at halftime, after a 3-pointer from Carlee Cassidy and a pair of free throws by Kurowski erased Virginia's five-point lead.

The Cavaliers shot 14 for 41 in the first half, failed to take advantage of 10 UMBC turnovers. Wright was scoreless on 0-for-9 shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes.