It Was All on the Line : Virginia All-American Staley Helps Talk a Young Fan Out of Leaping to Her Death

Dawn Staley, national women’s basketball player of the year last season, is known as a team player. She holds the single-season assist record at the University of Virginia.

But the soft-spoken Staley got her biggest assist two weeks ago when she helped police in Charlottesville, Va., by talking a teen-age girl out of suicide.

Staley, a two-time All-American, was called to a downtown mall where a 16-year-old Charlottesville girl was threatening to jump from a parking structure. Police said the girl had indicated that she was a fan of Staley and they believed Staley could help talk the girl down.

Staley, Virginia Coach Debbie Ryan and assistant coach Shawn Campbell arrived at the mall about 1 1/2 hours after the girl had threatened to jump from the four-story structure.

According to Sgt. F.G. Upman of the Charlottesville police, Staley then spoke with the girl on the edge of the concrete structure for several minutes while a fire department team laid out an air bag in case the teen jumped.

Angela Manolokas, Virginia’s sports information director, said that Staley and the girl talked about basketball. Staley declined to discuss the incident, calling it private.

Some time after talking with Staley, the girl came down. She was taken to a police station next door to the mall, where she spoke in private with Staley and Ryan for two hours. Manolokas said that Staley and Ryan gave the girl their phone numbers and encouraged her to call, which she has done.

They talked about how to handle setbacks and Staley and Ryan described their disappointment over losing the national championship to Tennessee last season.

The girl turned the tables and advised them not to dwell on the defeat.

Police said no charges were filed against the girl, who is receiving counseling. She attends Virginia practices frequently to watch Staley.

Staley is a senior from Philadelphia and attended Dobbins Tech, as did Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble. Gathers, the former Loyola Marymount star who died after collapsing in March of 1990, was Staley’s idol. The 5-foot-5 guard played last season with Gathers’ number, 44, marked on the back of her sneakers.