An All-ACC First Team and an All-ACC Second Team were voted on by the league’s Blue Ribbon Panel, which consists of national and local media members, as well as school representatives.
Unbeaten Notre Dame, which will enter this week’s ACC Women’s Tournament as the No. 1 seed, led the way with three total selections. The Fighting Irish guard tandem of senior Kayla McBride and sophomore Jewel Loyd were voted to the first team, while senior forward Natalie Achonwa is a second-team honoree.
Four first-team players from last season are repeat selections this year in two-time ACC Player of the Year Alyssa Thomas of Maryland, Duke junior Elizabeth Williams, Florida State senior Natasha Howard and Georgia Tech senior Tyaunna Marshall. Duke’s Trisha Liston, a second-team selection in 2013, was named to this year’s All-ACC first team.
Rounding out the 10-member first team are North Carolina freshman Diamond DeShields, NC State senior Markeisha Gatling and Wake Forest junior Dearica Hamby.
Joining Notre Dame’s Achonwa on the second team are NC State senior Kody Burke, Georgia Tech freshman Kaela Davis, Syracuse sophomore Brittney Sykes and Virginia Tech senior Uju Ugoka.
Loyd leads Notre Dame in scoring at 18.4 points per game, while McBride averages 17.7 points per game while shooting 87.4 percent from the foul line and is handing out 3.9 assists per contests.
Wake Forest’s Hamby closed the regular season leading the ACC in both scoring (21.7 ppg) and in rebounding (10.9). Maryland’s Thomas ranks fourth among ACC scorers at 18.7 points per game and is just behind Hamby among leading rebounders at 10.8.
Duke’s Williams is scoring at a 13.9 ppg clip while pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game and leading all shot blockers with 2.9 per outing. Liston leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 17.9 points per game while shooting an ACC-leading 50 percent from 3-point range (79-of-158).
Florida State’s Howard’s 20.6 points per game rank second in the conference, and she is fourth in rebounding at 9.1 per game. Georgia Tech’s Marshall is third in scoring at 19.7 ppg and ranks second in steals at 2.6 per contest
North Carolina’s DeShields emerged as an immediate contributor for the Tar Heels, scoring 17.7 points per game. NC State’s Gatling leads the ACC in field goal percentage at 67.7 percent while scoring 19.2 points per game.
Notre Dame’s Achonwa earned second team honors after averaging 14.7 points per game and grabbing 7.7 rebound per contest during the regular season. NC State’s Burke averages 15.1 points per game and ranks among the ACC’s leading free-throw shooters at 86.4 percent. Georgia Tech’s Davis is sixth in the ACC in scoring (18.4 ppg) and ranks fifth in made 3-point shots (76).
Syracuse’s Sykes averages 17.1 ppg while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor. Virginia Tech’s Ugoka ranks ninth among ACC scorers at 18.3 ppg and third among rebounders with 9.5 per contest.
UNC’s DeShields and Georgia Tech’s Davis were also voted to the Blue Ribbon Panel’s ACC All-Freshman Team announced on Tuesday. They are joined by Maryland’s Lexie Brown, North Carolina’s Allisha Gray and Miami’s Adrienne Motley.
Brown played a key role in the Terrapins’ backcourt her freshman year, ranking fifth among all ACC players in assists with 4.3 per game and ranking second in assist/turnover ratio at 2.1. UNC’s Gray averages 14.4 ppg and ranks fourth in ACC 3-point shooting at 41.9 percent. Miami’s Motley leads the Hurricanes in scoring at 10.9 ppg and in assists at 2.6 per contest.
The ACC will announce its Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year as selected by the Blue Ribbon Panel on Wednesday, March 5. The Defensive and Sixth Player of Year will also be announced that same day.
The 37th Annual ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament tips off at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 5, and will conclude with the 7 p.m. championship contest on Sunday, March 9. The title game will be televised on ESPN, and Saturday’s 5 p.m and 7:30 p.m. semifinal games will be shown nationally via ESPNU. All 11 games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be broadcast on the league’s regional sports network (RSN). The entire tournament can also be seen on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.
Blue Ribbon Panel All-ACC Team
First Team All-ACC
Diamond DeShields, Fr., G, North Carolina
Markeisha Gatling, Sr., C, NC State
Dearica Hamby, Jr., F, Wake Forest
Natasha Howard, Sr., F, Florida State
Tricia Liston, Sr., G, Duke
Jewell Loyd, So., G, Notre Dame
Tyaunna Marshall, Sr., G, Georgia Tech
Kayla McBride, Sr., G, Notre Dame
Alyssa Thomas, Sr., F, Maryland
Elizabeth Williams, Jr., C/F, Duke
Second Team All-ACC
Natalie Achonwa, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Kody Burke, Sr., F, NC State
Kaela Davis, Fr., G, Georgia Tech
Brittney Sykes, So., G, Syracuse
Uju Ugoka, Sr., F, Virginia Tech
Blue Ribbon Panel All-Freshman Team
Lexie Brown, Fr., G, Maryland
Kaela Davis, Fr., G, Georgia Tech
Diamond DeShields, Fr., G, North Carolina
Allisha Gray, Fr., G North Carolina
Adrienne Motley, Fr. G, Miami