Virginia good fit for Fairfield senior Gaffney

Raeshaun

Gaffney

FAIRFIELD — When it came to picking a school, the University of Virginia’s rankings were too hard to pass up for Fairfield High School junior girls basketball standout Raeshaun Gaffney.

But not the rankings you might think.

In the U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of America’s Best Colleges, UVA ranked No. 2 among public colleges and No. 25 among public and private schools combined. Its law school ranked No. 10.

For Gaffney, who aspires to be a corporate or media and entertainment lawyer some day, the academic numbers were just as important as Top 25 basketball rankings.

“It’s the best of both worlds, with them being ranked in the top 25 in academics and their law school being as great as it is,” said Gaffney, who recently gave a verbal commitment to Virginia.

Gaffney said she narrowed her list of schools down to five finalists — Virginia, Northwestern, Penn State, Michigan State and Vanderbilt — before choosing the Cavaliers. She visited all five schools.

Playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference for a hall-of-fame coach (Debbie Ryan) also was a contributing factor in the decision, Gaffney said.

Ryan, who was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, has won 720 games in 33 seasons at Virginia. The Cavaliers have been to the NCAA tournament 24 times in her tenure.

“Just getting to know Coach Ryan and the rest of the coaching staff and them getting to know me, I just loved it there,” Gaffney said.

There’s a lot to love about Gaffney’s game. The 5-foot-8 guard is averaging 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 3.5 assists per game for the 5-2 Indians.

“She’s very fun to watch,” FHS coach Patrick O’Leary said. “She’s such a competitor. She’s tried to make the team so much better. Her goal is to put Fairfield High School on the map, and she’s done that with the help of teammates. It’s been a really fun season so far.”

Gaffney played her first two high school seasons at Mount Notre Dame before transferring to FHS.

Gaffney, the daughter of Raymond and Shaun Gaffney, is ranked 55th nationally in the Class of 2012 by ESPN Hoop Gurlz.