Johnson and Williams Earn All-ACC Honors
March 1, 2010
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that the University of Miami’s sophomore duo of Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams have been named to All-ACC Women’s Basketball Teams.
“We are thrilled that Shenise and Riquna have been recognized for the incredible seasons they are having,” said Miami head coach Katie Meier. “The ACC is the premier women’s basketball conference in the country and contains the nation’s top individual talent.”
Johnson became the first Hurricane since Tamara James in 2006 to be named First Team All-ACC. Last season Johnson was named Honorable Mention All-ACC and to the ACC All-Freshman team. Earlier today, it was announced that Johnson was one of 30 women to be named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Candidate list.
Johnson, a Henrietta, N.Y. native, has had another remarkable season for the Hurricanes in her sophomore campaign. She scored 18.6 points and led the `Canes with 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game.
Williams is only the second player in school history to be named Second Team All-ACC, joining Renee Taylor (2007). In the final game of the regular season, the Pahokee, Fla. native hit five three pointers, giving her 83 on the year and setting a new school single season record.
Williams was the ACC’s second leading scorer at 19.5 points per game -behind only Virginia’s Monica Wright. She set a school single-game record for three-pointers after hitting eight in the second game of the season.
“For us to have two of the top-10 players in the league is a huge statement for our team,” added Meier. “The fact that two sophomores earned these accolades, speaks volumes on the direction of our program.”
The backcourt duo became the first Miami pair to garner first or second-team conference honors in the same season since Vicki Plowden and Della Wilson accomplished the feat in the 1992-93 season when Miami was still a member of the BIG EAST.
Miami along with Florida State and North Carolina were the only schools to have more than one player included in the three All-ACC teams. Johnson and Williams were the only two sophomores to be included in the top two teams.
First Team
Carolyn Swords, Jr., C Boston College
Jasmine Thomas, Jr., G Duke
Jacinta Monroe, Sr., G/F Florida State
Shenise Johnson, So., G Miami
Monica Wright, Sr., G * Virginia
Second Team
Lele Hardy, Sr., G/F Clemson
Courtney Ward, Jr., F Florida State
Brigitte Ardossi, Sr., F Georgia Tech
Riquna Williams, So., G Miami
Italee Lucas, Jr., F North Carolina
Third Team
Joy Cheek, Sr., F Duke
Alex Montgomery, Jr., Georgia Tech
Lynetta Kizer, So., C Maryland
Cetera DeGraffenreid, Jr., G North Carolina
Secily Ray, So., G Wake Forest
Honorable Mention (15 or more votes)
Stefanie Murphy (BC); Lori Bjork (MD); Bonae Holston (NC State); Utahya Drye (VT); Brittany Waters (WF).
