Triangle Sports Roundup – Thanksgiving Day Vol. II

Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com
Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com
Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com

Tar Heels forward Mavunga named ACC Player of the Week

GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina Tar Heels sophomore forward Stephanie Mavunga was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, as announced earlier in the week on Monday.

Mavunga led the Tar Heels to a pair of wins last week posting consecutive double-doubles – averaging 20.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and four blocks.

Mavunga set a career-high with 16 rebounds and six blocks in North Carolina’s 76-59 win at Oregon on Sunday, while her 23 points against the Ducks was just one shy of a career-best mark.

During a 79-77 victory over the then No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowgirls last Wednesday, Mavunga hit the game-winning basket with four seconds left to cap off an 18-point, 11-rebound performance.

The Player of the Week selection was Mavunga’s first of the season and first since collecting ACC Freshman of the Week honors last season on Nov. 24, 2013.

ACC Women’s Basketball represented on preseason awards Lists

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) women’s basketball is well represented on two preseason national awards lists with six student-athletes named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason list, while five are among the “Wade Watch” list for the Wade Trophy.

Included on the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 are Duke’s Elizabeth Williams, Georgia Tech’s Kaela Davis, Louisville’s Sara Hammond, North Carolina’s Allisha Gray, Notre Dame’s Jewell Loyd and Wake Forest’s Dearica Hamby.

The ACC’s six representatives on the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 lead all leagues.

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball.

It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.

Players not chosen to the John R. Wooden Award preseason list are eligible for both the midseason list and the National Ballot.

The National Ballot consists of 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA.

The Wooden Award All American team, consisting of the nation’s top five players, will be announced the week of the Final Four.

Gray, Hamby, Hammond, Loyd and Williams are also among the 25 on the “Wade Watch” list.

Now in its 38th year, The Wade Trophy is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade.

Regarded as “The Heisman of Women’s Basketball,” The Wade Trophy is presented annually to the WBCA NCAA Division I Player of the Year by SHAPE America – the Society of Health and Physical Educators and the WBCA.

The 25-member list is made up of top NCAA Division I student-athletes who best embody the spirit of Lily Margaret Wade according to the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability.

All six players named to either list are Preseason All-ACC Team selections, including Loyd who was selected as the ACC’s Preseason Player of the Year.

Loyd and Williams were also named to the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team earlier this month.

ACC Players on the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30

Elizabeth Williams, Sr., C/F, Duke

Kaela Davis, So., G, Georgia Tech

Sara Hammond, Sr., F, Louisville

Allisha Gray, So., G, North Carolina

Jewell Loyd, Jr., G, Notre Dame

Dearica Hamby, Sr., F, Wake Forest

ACC Players on the Wade Watch List

Elizabeth Williams, Sr., C/F, Duke

Sara Hammond, Sr., F, Louisville

Allisha Gray, So., G, North Carolina

Jewell Loyd, Jr., G, Notre Dame

Dearica Hamby, Sr., F, Wake Forest