GREENSBORO, N.C. – Four members of the Maryland women’s basketball team were named to the 2011-12 Women’s Basketball All-ACC teams, as announced today by ACC Commissioner John Swofford.
The accolades are voted on by the league’s “Blue Ribbon Panel,” which consists of national and local media members, as well as school representatives. Alyssa Thomas earned First Team honors, Tianna Hawkins was named to the Second Team, while Lynetta Kizer and Laurin Mincy earned Honorable Mention Honors.
Kizer also earned the fifth annual ACC Sixth Player of the Year honor. The ACC Sixth Player of the Year accolade is nominated and selected by a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches among players that started fewer than 33% of their team’s games.
Thomas, the ACC’s leading scorer, averaged 17.0 points per game and 17.7 points per conference game. Her 8.5 rebounds per ACC game are fifth-best in the league. She earned her fourth ACC Player of the Week honor Monday for a total of four weekly honors this season – more than any other player in the league.
Thomas, who was named ACC Rookie of the Year last season, has scored in double figures in 25 of 28 games this season with eight double-doubles. The Terrapins won four straight to end the regular season. In that four-game span, Thomas averaged 17.0 points, 13.3 rebounds and four assists per game.
Hawkins, a junior forward, leads the nation with her field goal percentage of 64.4 and is the league’s best offensive rebounder with 4.7 per contest. She is No. 9 in the ACC in scoring with 14.0 points per league game and second in overall rebounding with 9.5 a contest.
Mincy proved to be one of the league’s best shooters with her three-point field goal percentage of .390, which was good for No. 2 in the conference. She finished 11th in the league in scoring with 13.4 points per game and seventh with her free throw percentage of 82 percent. Mincy was easily one of the ACC’s most improved players, after she averaged 4.9 points per game as a freshman, to 13.4 points per contest this year as a sophomore.
Kizer ranks 21st in the league with 11.6 points on 46.4% shooting this season after only starting one of the Terrapins’ 26 games. She added 5.8 rebounds per game, fourth-most on the Maryland roster.
A senior from Woodbridge, Va., Kizer posted three double-doubles and had eight consecutive games with double-figure points during conference play. She recorded 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, including the 900th of her career, against No. 6 Miami in mid-February.
The Terrapins (25-4, 11-4 ACC) will open play in the 35th Annual ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament Friday evening at approximately 8 p.m. as the No. 3 seed. They will play either sixth-seeded Virginia or 11th-seeded Boston College, depending on Thursday’s result.
All eight games on Thursday and Friday will be broadcast on the league’s regional sports network (RSN-Comcast SportsNet/Comcast SportsNet PLUS in Baltimore). The entire tournament can also be seen on ESPN3.
For more information, visit the official site of the 2012 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament at www.theACC.com/SheCanPlay. Fans can also follow the upcoming Tournament games on Twitter at @ACCwbb.
Maryland is ranked No. 6 in both the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Division I Top 25 Coaches’ polls.
All-ACC First Team
Chelsea Gray, Duke
Shenise Johnson, Miami
Alyssa Thomas, Maryland
Elizabeth Williams, Duke
Riquna Williams, Miami
All-ACC Second Team
Sasha Goodlett, Georgia Tech
Tianna Hawkins, Maryland
Tyaunna Marshall, Georgia Tech
Ariana Moorer, Virginia
Chay Shegog, North Carolina
All-ACC Third Team
Cierra Bravard, Florida State
Bonae Holston, NC State
Natasha Howard, Florida State
Haley Peters, Duke
Stefanie Yderstrom, Miami
All-ACC Honorable Mention (More than 15 points)
Laura Broomfield, North Carolina; Lakevia Boykin, Wake Forest; Ataira Franklin, Virginia; Marissa Kastanek, NC State; Lynetta Kizer, Maryland; Laurin Mincy, Maryland
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