March 2, 2011
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Georgia Tech freshman Tyaunna Marshall was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team, announced Wednesday by ACC Commissioner John Swofford.
The team was selected by the league’s Blue Ribbon Panel, a group that includes select media, as well as all 12 ACC women’s basketball coaches. Maryland forward Alyssa Thomas was selected as ACC Rookie of the Year.
It is the second all-conference honor for Marshall, an Upper Marlboro, Md., native, this season as she was selected to the All-ACC third team, which was announced on Tuesday. Marshall earned five ACC Rookie of the Week selections this season, which are the second most weekly accolades by a Tech freshman and topped only by Niesha Butler’s seven in 1998-99.
Marshall is the first Yellow Jacket to be selected to the league’s all-rookie team since current Tech senior Alex Montgomery was chosen to the 2008 squad, and just the seventh Jacket to ever earn the honor.
“Ty has been one of the best freshmen in the ACC all season,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “She has been a difference maker on our team and in our program. She deserves to be named to the All-ACC Freshman Team.”
Marshall has started all 30 games this year for the Yellow Jackets and finished the regular season second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game, converting an impressive 47.1 percent of all field goal attempts. She was third on the team with 2.0 assists an outing and 1.7 steals per game, and pulled down 4.3 rebounds per contest.
She posted the highest scoring game by a Tech freshman in her first collegiate game when she tossed in 18 points in the season-opener against Georgia State. She was able to score consistently for the Yellow Jackets and scored at least 20 points six times this year, including three times against Top 25 teams. Marshall tallied double digit points in 21 of 30 games this year and led the Jackets in scoring 15 times.
Currently, Marshall is fifth in the Georgia Tech record books for most points by a freshman with 402 and is just 35 points shy of tying Kisha Ford for fourth.
Joining Marshall and Thomas on the ACC All-Freshman Team were Duke guard Chelsea Gray, Florida State forward Natasha Howard and Virginia guard Ataira Franklin.
The Yellow Jackets will begin play in the 2011 ACC Tournament on Thursday morning as the No. 5 seed and will take on the 12th-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies at 11 a.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. The game will be televised by the ACC’s regional sports network and fans can listen to the game on WREK 91.1 or WREK.org.
As always, fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s basketball on Twitter, @GTWBB, for instant updates.
— RamblinWreck.com —
