U.Va's Franklin cracks ACC All-Rookie team

Virginia's Ataira Franklin, who led the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage and emerged as the Cavaliers' most consistently productive offensive player, was named to the league's All-Freshman team on Wednesday.

The 5-foot-11 former Riverdale Baptist star is Virginia's first all-rookie selection since Monica Wright in 2007. She is also the second Cavalier this season to earn all-conference honors. On Tuesday, guard Ariana Moorer was selected as the ACC's Sixth Player of the Year.

Franklin led UVa in its 14 conference games by averaging a team-high 12.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. Entering the ACC Tournament, Franklin has scored in double digits in eight-consecutive contests and was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for her performances against Florida State (16 points), NC State (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Maryland (11 points, eight rebounds).

Franklin was joined on the All-Freshman team by Maryland's Alyssa Thomas, Georgia Tech's Ty Marshall, Duke's Chelsea Gray and Florida State's Natasha Howard. Maryland's Thomas, a seven-time conference rookie of the week selection, was named ACC Rookie of the Year.

First team, first team, first team for Richmond's Brittani Shells

Le'ts just say Brittani Shells is all-Everything.

All-Conference first team. All Defensive first team. All Academic first team.

Shells, the school's second all-time leading scorer,  leads the Spiders and the A-10 in points per game (19.3) and comes in third at steals per game (2.3). Shells recorded her 2,000th point on senior day in a win over Saint Louis. Shells is just the second-ever Spider to surpass the milestone and sits second on Richmond's all-time scoring list with 2,006 tallies.

"I am very proud of Brit," said head coach Michael Shafer. "She had an excellent year and a tremendous career. She has continued to get better over the course of her career and this a great culmination to one of the hard work that she put it during that time. The most impressive honor, is not any one that she earned, but all three together. Brit was recognized for being what she is, a true student athlete."

Shells is the Spiders' all-time steals leader (290) and is second in career average (16.2) and field goals made (796). Shells is fourth all-time in three pointers (174) and eighth in assists (323). Shells has recorded double-figures in all but two games this season and has 106 double-figure games for her career.

Senior moments: James Madison

We asked the head coaches to sum up each of their seniors with one word and explain why they chose that word. Here's what James Madison's Kenny Brooks had to say about the Dukes' four seniors.

Jalissa Taylor

"Caring"

Jalissa has always been known as the mother hen of the group, because she’ll get the shirt off her back to help out a teammate, a motherly-figure and wants to make sure everything goes well with everyone.

Courtney Hamner

"Hustle"

Courtney is a beautiful kid, and everything she does exemplifies the word hustle. She goes after everything full speed. I’ve had her for four years and never seen her take a play off, a possession off or a drill off. That’s why she’s out on the floor as much as she is, because she hustles during everything and she’ll make up for her mistakes because she’ll go out and hustle. She’ll run through a wall for you and that’s why she’s helped us become very successful.

Lauren Jimenez

"Misunderstood"

Most people don’t realize

A lot of times you look at her and she looks like this imposing, physical force, an enforcer and mean and in actuality, she’s a big teddy bear. Sometimes the exterior doesn’t match the interior. She can look mean or as an enforcer, but she’s a caring kid, is a great teammate and she’s a big teddy bear. So I want to go give her a hug anytime I see her.

Dawn Evans

"Wow!"

It seems that just about everything she does just makes you go wow. Whether it’s a deep 3-pointer, or a great pass, her caring attitude, or her ability to touch so many people, it just makes you go wow. Handling a situation as difficult as hers, a lot of people would run away from it, but she has handled it and attacked it, and it makes me go wow. I’ve said wow after Dawn Evans’ name so many times.

VCU's Hurt tops state's CAA efficiency list

With the CAA winding down its regular season tonight, we wanted to examine who have been the most efficient players from the Virginia contingent of the league this season. So we used the nba.com (and wnba.com) formula, which gives credit for points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and deducts for missed shots and turnovers. Obviously, no one stat can totally define a player's value or contributions. Keeping that in mind, here's how the players on the CAA's five Virginia schools - Old Dominion, James Madison, Virginia Commonwealth, William and Mary and George Mason - rank in terms of efficiency.

1. Courtney Hurt, VCU - 23.37
  - Of course, we didn't need no stinkin' number to tell us Hurt's been a beast this season.

2. Dawn Evans, JMU   - 20.00
  - Ditto for Dawn. And remember, she rarely practices and hasn't been 100 percent all year.

3. Lauren Jimenez, JMU - 15.82
  - Some 1-2 punch for the Dukes, isn't it?

4. Tia Lewis, Old Dominion - 14.92
  - Leads ODU in scoring, rebounding and blocks.

5. Andrea Barbour, VCU - 14.38
  - The rust is gone; over the last month or so, Barbour's been ballin' like crazy.

6. Russia Voronina, Old Dominion - 14.04
  - Remarkable. Is there a more improved player in the country?

7. Jasmine Parker, Old Dominion - 12.42
  - A few less turnovers (124) and the versatile JP would grade out much higher.

8. Taysha Pye, William and Mary - 10.51
  - Turnovers and a low shooting percentage hurt his otherwise extremely productive player.

9. Brittany Poindexter, George Mason - 10.11
  - Quietly solid across the board for the Patriots.

10. Amber Easter, George Mason - 10.00
  - We sometimes forget how effective Easter has been. This exercise served as a good reminder.

11. Lauren Whitehurst, JMU - 9.31
12. Kaitlyn Mathieu, William and Mary - 9.29
13. Katherine DeHenzel, William and Mary - 9.03
14. Jennifer Lane, VCU - 8.85
15. Taylor Hilton, William and Mary - 8.23
16. Shadasia Green, Old Dominion - 8.21
17. Emily Correal, William and Mary - 8.12
18. Angelee LaTouche, George Mason - 8.00
19. Taleia Moton, George Mason - 7.64
20. Nikki Newman, JMU  - 7.62
21. Courtney Hamner, JMU - 7.57
22. Jalissa Taylor, JMU - 7.46
23. Jaclyn McKenna, William and Mary - 6.96
24. Kquanise Byrd, Old Dominion - 6.61
25. Chelsea Snyder, VCU - 6.51
26. Evelyn Lewis, George Mason - 6.48
27. Sonia Johnson, VCU - 6.29
28. Kanita Shepherd, JMU - 5.88 (injured, out for season)
29. Jackie Cook, Old Dominion - 5.78
30. Tarik Hislop, JMU - 5.41

31. JoNiquia Guilford, Old Dominion - 4.71
32. Ashleigh Braxton, George Mason - 4.66
33. Rahneeka Saunders, George Mason - 4.62
34. Jessica Taylor, VCU - 4.25
35. Robyn Parks, VCU - 3.88
36. Brittany Eley, George Mason - 3.64
37. Kirby Burkholder, JMU - 3.20
38. Kiara Francisco, JMU - 3.15
40. Daphne Adebayo, VCU - 2.92
41. Christine Weithman, George Mason - 2.91
42. Katy Oblinger, William and Mary - 2.57
43. Lindsey Moller, William and Mary - 2.57
44. Rachel Connely, JMU - 2.56
45. Shakeva Richards, Old Dominion - 2.35
46. Jackie Brewer, VCU - 2.18
47. Becca Allison, Old Dominion - 1.60
48. Shavonne Duckett, George Mason - 1.13
49. Robyn Hobson, VCU - 1.13

Selected other CAA standouts

Elena Delle Donne, Delaware - 24.06

Shante Evans, Hofstra - 20.64

Brittany Blackwell, UNCW - 20.25

Kamile Nacickaite, Drexel - 15.07

Alisha Andrews, UNCW - 11.35

Senior moments: George Mason

Ashleigh Braxton

 We asked the head coaches to sum up each of their seniors with one word and explain why they chose that word. Here's what George Mason coach Jeri Porter had to say about the Patriots' four seniors.

Brittany Eley

Anglee LATouche

Ashleigh Braxton
"Determined"
Most people don’t realize she’s played with back injury all season and has played through the pain. She’s done a great job of playing through it and sacrificing her body to give the team what it needs.

Brittany Poindexter

Brittany Eley
"Solid"
"She is a kid that has bought in and works extremely hard. She shows up every day, plays hard and is available to give the team whatever it needs on any given night."

Angelee LaTouche
"Passionate"
She has a love for the game unlike many. She plays extremely hard and brings a fire and emotional energy to the team every time she steps on the floor.

Brittany Poindexter
"Hard-working"
She is somebody that has worked extremely hard in the three years with our program to improve. She shows up every day, gives 100 percent in practice and game situations and competes hard.

Senior moments: William and Mary

Katy Oblinger, Aleia Gland, Lindsey Moller

We asked the head coaches to sum up each of their seniors with one word and explain why they chose that word. Here's what William and Mary coach Debbie Taylor had to say about the Tribe's three seniors.

Katy Oblinger: "Feisty"

She is the energy of the team, just a little fireball. She's a big person in a little package.      

Lindsey Moller: "Worker"
She is the most unselfish, team-oriented hard worker I've coached here. It's hard to find kids who are selfless. She's a three-year captain. She's exactly like you want every kid to be, a tireless worker.

Aleia Gland: "Resilient"

"Three ACL tears. She actually tried to play with the last one at the start of the season and had to pack it in."

Suspended MEAC game to be replayed

Check out the latest on the MEAC brawl that forced Bethune-Cookman and Maryland Eastern Shore to suspend their game on Valentine's Day. The game will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday at North Carolina Central in Durham, N.C.. Neutral court? Bet that will draw a crowd .........

Silent Majority rankings #17 (March 1)

1. Xavier (25-2, 14-0 Atlantic 10)

Last week: 1

Streak: Won 15 straight. Status: A-10 regular-season champions, No. 1 seed in A-10 tournament. 

As Dayton did on two occasions earlier in the season, Temple proved that it can hang with the mighty Musketeers. But when it gets to winning time, well, to paraphrase Geno Auriemma, the Musketeers have Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips, and you don't. With Xavier ahead by just a point and just under 11 minutes left Sunday, Harris and Phillips combined for 9 points in a decisive 13-2 run. The Musketeers went on to win 73-66 and complete back-to-back unbeaten conference seasons for the first time in A-10 history. On deck: Saturday vs. either No. 8 St. Joseph's or No. 9 LaSalle in Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals.

2. Marist (27-2, 18-0 MAAC)

Last week: 2

Streak: Won 23 straight. Status: The Red Foxes have ridden the nation's longest winning streak to a No. 18 ranking by ESPN/USA Today - the highest in program history. Erica Allenspach and Corielle Yarde each earned first-team All-MAAC honors, and we suspect Allenspach will hear her named called again when the league announces its Player of the Year on Thursday. On deck: Friday vs. No. 8 St. Peter's or No. 9 River in MAAC Tournament quarterfinals.

3. Green Bay (27-1, 16-0 Horizon)

Last week: 3

Streak: Won 18 straight. Status: Clinched Horizon regular-season title.
The best part of Green Bay's 93-57 victory over Butler Sunday wasn't the season-high point total, or the season-high 64-percent shooting that led to it. The best part was that a sold-out crowd of 4,018 fans jammed the Kress Center to see it, and those that couldn't get a ticket watched from the hallways through the glass windows. And these fans don't just catch Phoenix fever for home games. According to the Green Bay sports information department, attendance in other Horizon League gyms jumps 34 percent when the Phoenix are in town. On deck: Regular-season finale Thursday at Wright State.

4. Gonzaga (26-4, 14-0 WCC)

Last week: 5

Streak: Won 16 straight. Status: WCC regular-season champions; No. 1 seed in WCC Tournament.
Speaking of rousing turnouts, the Bulldogs drew 6,000 fans - the third sellout in program history and second this season - for Saturday's 80-58 dismissal of San Diego that capped their second straight undefeated WAC season. On Tuesday, point guard Courtney Vandersloot picked up her third straight WCC Player of the Year award while Kelly Graves was tabbed conference coach of the year for the second year in a row and sixth time in his 11 seasons at Gonzaga.On deck: Saturday vs. No. 4 Portland, No. 5 Santa Clara or No. 8 San Francisco in WCC semifinals.  

5. Temple (22-7, 13-1 Atlantic 10)

Last week: 4

Streak: Lost one. Status: 2nd in Atlantic 10; No. 2 seed in A-10 Tournament.

Owls guard Qwedia Wallace, the Big Five Player of the Week, nailed her program-record 155th 3-pointer late in Sunday's 73-66 loss to Xavier. The win gave Xavier the outright A-10 regular-season title, but no one will be surprised if we see these same teams hook up again for even bigger stakes next Monday. On deck: Friday vs. No. 7 St. Bonaventure or No. 10 Fordham in A-10 Tournament quarterfinals.

6. Houston (24-4, 15-0 Conference USA)

Last week: 6

Streak: Won 15 straight. Status: Clinched C-USA regular-season title
The Cougars rallied from 19 points down to cook Rice 74-70. Their reward - a No. 25 ranking by AP, the program's first charting by the writers since Dec. 20, 2004. Also Monday, forward Courtney Taylor earned her fifth C-USA Player of the Week honor this season (10th of her career). The Cougars are 23-2 with Taylor in the lineup. On deck: Regular-season finale Saturday vs. Tulane. 

7: BYU (21-7, 13-1 Mountain West)

Last week: 9

Streak: Won 10 straight. Status: 2-game lead over TCU atop WAC with 2 games remaining.
The Cougars trailed by 16 early and by 10 at halftime before clawing their way back for a 56-52 win over San Diego State. "Even though we were down, we knew we were going to come back little by little, even if it was little by little," BYU senior Coriann Fraughton said. "We believed the whole game we'd win and we stuck with our principles." On deck: Tuesday at New Mexico; Saturday at Wyoming. 

8. Northern Iowa (22-5, 15-1 Missouri Valley)

Last week: 11

Streak: Won 14 straight. Status: Clinched MVC regular-season title.
Friday's 71-61 decision over Bradley was surprising, not because the Panthers won but because they gave up 61 points. The Panthers' previous two opponents had failed to crack 45, and Northern Iowa hadn't surrendered 60 or more since an 80-69 victory over Missouri State on Jan. 6, or 14 games ago. On deck: Thursday vs. Indiana State; Saturday vs. Illinois State.

9. Louisiana Tech (21-6, 13-1 WAC)

Last week: 7

Streak: Lost one. Status: One-game lead over Fresno State atop WAC with two games remaining.
Monday's 71-66 loss to Nevada snapped the Lady Techsters' 13-game winning streak and represented their first defeat in 2011. Strange game. The Wolf Pack played without captain and leading rebounder Shavon Moore, who tore her ACL in the previous game. But even without Moore's 8.5 boards per game, Nevada outrebounded the Lady Techsters 46-22. Ah, the magic of Senior Night.... On deck: Thursday vs. Boise State; Saturday vs. Idaho. 

10. Hampton (22-6, 14-1 MEAC)

Last week: 10

Streak: Won 10 straight. Status: Clinched MEAC regular-season title.

Former Fanhouse.com writer Milton Kent turned in a nice profile of Lady Pirates guard Jericka Jenkins, the presumptive MEAC Player of the Year who has battled back from Hodgkin's Lymphoma. On deck: regular-season finale Thursday at Howard.

11. James Madison (22-7, 15-2 CAA)

Last week: 8

Streak: Lost one. Status: One-game lead over ODU and UNC Wilmington in CAA with one game left.

JMU's 75-73 loss at Hofstra Sunday, a game in which the Dukes lost a 23-point lead, injected some drama into the final day of the CAA race. The title is still theirs if they can beat UNC Wilmington Wednesday. And with this being the final home game in the illustrious career of guard Dawn Evans, well, frankly we can't imagine them losing it. On deck: Wednesday vs. UNC Wilmington. 

12. Princeton (21-4, 10-1 Ivy)

Last week: 12

Streak: Won 7 straight. Status: 2-game lead in loss column over Yale and Harvard atop Ivy.

The Tigers can clinch at least a share of their second straight Ivy League crown with a win Friday at Dartmouth, and can claim the title outright - and punch their NCAA Tournament ticket - with another win Saturday against Harvard. On Feb. 4, the Crimson handed the Tigers their only Ivy League loss. On deck: Friday vs. Dartmouth; Saturday vs. Harvard. 

13. Middle Tennessee State (23-6, 14-2 Sun Belt)

Last week: 14

Streak:Won one. Status: Clinched Sun Belt East Division title.

For what it's worth, ESPN's NCAA Tournament projections have the Blue Raiders with a tenuous grip on being one of the last four teams in the field of 64. Makes for interesting reading. But since thousands of variables will change between now and Selection Day, that's all it is - interesting reading. On deck: Sunday vs. No. 4 Arkansas State or No. 5 Florida Atlantic in Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinals. 

14. Fresno State (21-7, 12-2 WAC)

Last week: 15

Streak: Won 6 straight. Status: 2nd place in WAC, 2 games behind Louisiana Tech with 2 games left.

Senior guard Jaleesa Ross scored 25 points in Sunday's 83-70 win at Hawaii and needs just 8 more to break former Fresno State forward Melvin Eley's nine-year-old scoring record of 1,951 points and become the Bulldogs' all-time leading scorer. On deck: Thursday at San Jose State; Saturday vs. Nevada. 

15. Old Dominion (20-8, 14-3 CAA)

Last week: 17

Streak: Won 3 straight. Status: Tied with UNCW for 2nd in CAA, 1 game behind JMU with 1 game left.
A victory Wednesday at Drexel coupled with a James Madison loss to UNC Wilmington would create a three-way tie for first in the CAA from which ODU would emerge as the tournament's No. 1 seed. The Lady Monarchs have been the event's No. 1 seed 15 times in their 19 previous seasons in the CAA. On deck: Wednesday at Drexel. 

16. UNC Wilmington (22-6, 14-3 CAA)

Last week: 21

Streak: Won 4 straight. Status: Tied with ODU in 2nd place in CAA, 1 game behind JMU with 1 game left. 

Seahawks coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke will take a break from CAA coaching Sunday to return to USC and have her jersey retired. Let's see...Cooper left USC in 1986. Since then, she's been arguably the greatest player in WNBA history and a successful Division I coach. In August, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. One question, Women of Troy: What took you guys so long? On deck: Regular-season finale Wednesday at James Madison. 

17. Arkansas-Little Rock (19-7, 13-2 Sun Belt)

Last week: 17

Streak: Lost one. Status: Clinched Sun Belt West Division title.

The Trojans are just 2-2 in their last four games after Saturday's 54-51 setback at Arkansas State. Not exactly the kind of momentum a team wants to take into a one-and-done postseason tournament. On deck: Regular-season finale vs. North Texas.

18. Bowling Green (24-4, 12-3 MAC)

Last week: 20

Streak: Won 7 straight. Status: Clinched MAC East Division title.

The Falcons' five fourth-year seniors – Chelsea Albert, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher - have been a part of 106 victories. Remarkably, that total is only the fourth-highest in program history; the record is 114. On deck: Regular-season finale Wednesday vs. Buffalo. 

19. Florida Gulf Coast (24-3, 17-3 Atlantic Sun)

Last week: 16

Streak: Lost one. Status: A-Sun regular-season champions.

The Eagles' spectacular run through the Atlantic Sun was acknowledged Tuesday as Shannon Murphy earned first-team all-league honors and rookie Sarah Hansen was a second-team and all-freshman pick. In addition, FGCU coach Karl Smesko was named coach of the year. Although not yet eligible for the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles are qualified to accept the A-Sun's automatic bid to the WNIT. On deck: Friday vs. Seattle in FGCU Tournament. 

20. Toledo (21-7, 13-2 MAC)

Last week: 19

Streak: Lost one. Status: Clinched MAC West Division title.

Must be something about Northern Illinois. On Saturday, the Huskies held Toledo to just 53 points in a four-point victory that snapped the Rockets' 9-game winning streak. The 53 points were the fewest Toledo has scored since the last time they played Northern Illinois and eked out a 42-31 decision on Jan. 12. On deck: Wednesday vs. Central Michigan. 

And finally, once again:

21 (tie). Duquesne (22-7, 9-5 Atlantic 10)

21 (tie). Dayton (18-10, 9-5 Atlantic 10)

21 (tie). St. Bonaventure (19-10, 9-5 Atlantic 10)

21 (tie) Richmond (18-10, 9-5 Atlantic 10)

21 (tie). Charlotte (21-8, 9-5 Atlantic 10)

Hate to keep doing this. But we're sure these Atlantic 10 teams, all of whom tied for third in the final standings, belong on this list somewhere, They keep knocking each other off, though, so it's virtually impossible to sort them out. All of these teams are ticketed for the postseason - NCAA or WNIT - and we think they're all going to be extremely dangerous. Relieved, too, no doubt, that they don't have to keep banging into themselves every night.

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D-III tournament: CNU hosts, Randolph-Macon travels

 Christopher Newport will stay home and Randolph-Macon will hit the road.

That's the news the two teams got on Monday when the NCAA Div. III Women's Basketball Tournament bracket was announced.

CNU (25-3), fresh off winning its third straight USA South tournament title, will host the first two rounds on Friday and Saturday at the Freeman Center in Newport News. CNU will open up against York (16-12), with the winner advancing to play the winner between Johns Hopkins (21-5) and Richard Stockton (17-9).

 Friday's game is an opportunity for some belated revenge for the Captains - two years ago, CNU traveled to Pennsylvania in the first round and lost to York.

The games at the Freeman Center are at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday, with CNU playing in the late game. Saturday's game between the two winning teams is at 5 p.m. Tickets ($8 chairback, $6 general admission, $3 students) will go on sale Wednesday at the Freeman Center or by phone at 594-7880.

 Randolph-Macon (22-6), champion of the ODAC, will travel to Annville, Pa., to play Bridgewater State (19-7) on Friday. The winner of that game will take on the winner between host team Lebanon Valley (25-2) and Neumann (20-7).

For those who would care to keep track, CNU senior Chelsie Schweers - who averages 25 points per game - now has 2,695 points in her career. She needs 33 more points to surpass Anne Donovan (2,719 points at ODU) and Jackie Dolberry (2,727 points at Hampton) as the top collegiate scorer in state history.

No UVa. or VT players on All-ACC teams

Since forward Cathy Grimes earned first-team honors on the inaugural All-ACC team in 1983-84, Virginia had churned out at least one first-, second- or third-team All-ACC performer in every season. That streak officially ended Tuesday, when the league released its 2010-11 all-conference teams without recognizing a single Cavalier. No Virginia Tech player earned all-conference honors either; neither of the Commonwealth's schools even nabbed an honorable mention nod in the balloting of the league's blue-ribbon voting panel.

The ACC's coaches found something to like about Virginia, though. Cavaliers guard Ariana Moorer was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year by the league's 12 head coaches. Moorer led the Cavaliers in scoring (9.5 ppg) and assists (3.1 apg) despite starting just 8 of 30 games.

This year's All-ACC first-teamers are Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams of Miami, Jasmine Thomas of Duke, Cierra Bravard of Florida State and Carolyn Swords of Boston College. Swords earned all-ACC honors for the fourth straight season. N.C. State's Bonae Holston, a Newport News native, was named to the All-ACC second team.

That Virginia Tech was shut out is hardly surprising; the Hokies finished last in the 12-team league. Virginia didn't really have any obvious all-conference candidates, either (although Ataira Franklin has a strong resume for ACC All-Rookie team honors). But while not seeing any Cavaliers on this year's list isn't a shock, it is unique in the storied history of this program. In addition to having at least one All-ACC performer in every year since 1983-84, the Cavaliers have also had more All-ACC nods (59) than any other conference team.

Unlike most conferences, the ACC staggers the announcement of its postseason awards. So the Coach and Player of the Year and All-Defense and All-Rookie honors will trickle out separately over the next few days.