Dec. 17, 2007
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Georgia Tech’s Janie Mitchell and Boston College’s Stefanie Murphy were named Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week after leading their respective teams to difficult wins over the weekend, the ACC office announced Monday.
Mitchell led Georgia Tech to a hard-fought 70-58 win over Mississippi State on Sunday, boosting the Yellow Jackets’ season record to 8-1 on her way to her second-consecutive Player of the Week honor. She is only the sixth Tech women’s basketball player to receive this honor more than once in a career and the only player to garner the honor in back-to-back weeks.
“It is special for any player to be named ACC Player of the Week two weeks in a row,” said head coach MaChelle Joseph of Mitchell’s honor. “I know this means a lot to Janie and this program.”
Mitchell, a senior forward from Jackson, Miss., led the Yellow Jackets to a come-from-behind win over Mississippi State on Sunday with 11 second-half points. Behind her strong play, Georgia Tech outscored the Bulldogs 44-29 in the game’s second stanza to pull away and register the program’s first-ever victory against Mississippi State. Mitchell finished the game with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting and also pulled down eight rebounds in the win. With her performance, she pushed her season scoring average to 16.3, good for seventh in the ACC.
“Janie has established herself as one of the best players in Georgia Tech history,” Joseph said. “We are so proud of her accomplishments at this point in the season.”
In two games last week, Murphy notched 30 points to go along with 26 rebounds as the Eagles improved their record to 8-3. Murphy currently leads all ACC freshmen, and ranks second in the league, in both scoring (19.1) and rebounding (11.2). She also ranks fifth with an overall shooting percentage of .593.
Mitchell and the Yellow Jackets will see their next action on Tuesday, Dec. 18, in a 4:00 p.m. ET contest at Mississippi Valley State. Georgia Tech will then travel across town to visit Georgia State on Dec. 22 for a 1 p.m. tip.
– RamblinWreck.com –
