Associated Press

UVa's Monica Wright, a two-time first-team all-ACC pick, is the third-leading scorer in ACC history with 2,474 career points.

The crowd at John Paul Jones Arena stood and cheered. Coach Debbie Ryan made a speech. Monica Wright took the microphone and thanked the Virginia fans, her teammates and coaches.

Afterward, though, Wright was wondering about that No. 22 jersey they'd retired in her honor.

"I didn't realize that they could do that," Wright said with a sheepish smile. "To have my name in the rafters before I even ..."

Well, before she is even done playing.

Leave it to Wright to throw the flag on herself. No one else would.

"She's taught everyone here about what character really is," said Virginia coach Debbie Ryan. "If you were to paint a picture of a basketball player, this is the person you would paint."

Even Virginia Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger, whose team was Wright's last regular-season victim, was all for throwing her a party -- albeit one of the going away variety.

"Let's have a good party and welcome her to the WNBA," Dunkenberger suggested.

Wright has the WNBA on her schedule for sure, but not yet. In a career laden with individual accolades, Wright is still chasing a team goal.

"Winning a championship has been the focus of this team all season," Wright said. "In the huddle we say 'championship' before every game, before every practice. This is a legendary program. This is what we want -- to get it back to where it's used to being."

The No. 24 Cavaliers (21-8, 9-5 ACC) won the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the ACC tournament. Virginia will play the winner of today's N.C. State vs. Clemson game at 8 p.m. Friday at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum.

"Greensboro is going to be a dog fight," Wright said. "Those games are going to be three times as hard as the ACC regular season."

If the Cavaliers make a run in Greensboro or in the NCAAs, it will be on Wright's shoulders.

She averaged 23 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 steals a game this season, leading the league in both scoring and steals. Already named to the all-ACC team, she was honored as the league's defensive player of the year on Wednesday. The ACC player of the year award will be announced today.

Such honors have followed Wright's career at Virginia. She was the ACC's rookie of the year in 2006-07, an all-ACC defensive pick and second-team all-ACC pick as a sophomore, and was an all-ACC first-teamer in 2008-09.

This is the second straight season that Wright has led the league in scoring, and she'll close out her career as the third-leading scorer in ACC history behind Clemson's Barbara Kennedy (3,113 from 1979-82) and Duke's Alana Beard (2,687, 2001-04). In 131 games, Wright has 2,474 points and tons of admirers.

"I played against her in high school and she's always been fabulous," said Virginia Tech sophomore Shanel Harrison. "But she's improved so much, she can attack, pull up, pass, she could probably dunk if she wanted to."

Ryan called Wright "one of the most gifted athletes I've ever coached, and she's as good a leader as she is an athlete."

The leadership had to develop over time. As a freshman and sophomore, Wright deferred to point guard Sharnee Zoll. It was after Zoll graduated that Wright stepped up.

"She's a better enforcer as well as an encourager," Ryan said. "She's also established her own personality, put her own stamp on the team. She has a way of loving you and yet still being able to express that she's not happy."