April 2, 2016
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech senior guard Aaliyah Whiteside was named an honorable mention All-American by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Whiteside becomes the sixth All-American in program history, joining Joyce Pierce (1993), Kisha Ford (1997), Sonja Mallory (2003), Alex Montgomery (2011), and Tyaunna Marshall (2013, 2014).
Whiteside has already picked up a few honors from her outstanding senior season. She was named first-team All-ACC by both the ACC head coaches and the Blue Ribbon Panel. Whiteside was tabbed the Georgia College Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and was honored on the ACC All-Tournament Second Team.
Whiteside is the ACC’s leading scorer, having led the top conference in collegiate women’s basketball in scoring the entire year. She finished off her final season in a Georgia Tech uniform averaging 19.5 points per game which leads the league and is 34th in the NCAA. She also led the ACC in scoring in conference games with 18.9 points per game. Whiteside recorded an ACC-high 18 20+ point games. Whiteside has scored in double figures in 38 of 40 games this season and has led the Yellow Jackets on the offensive end in 23 games.
If Whiteside’s 19.5 points per game scoring average stays atop the ACC rankings, she will be only the second Yellow Jacket to capture the ACC scoring title. The scoring title is determined at the conclusion of the post season after all games are played. The only other Jacket to lead the ACC in scoring at the conclusion of the season was Dolores Bootz in 1988. She averaged 20.6 ppg over 27 games.
The Memphis, Tenn., native has also cemented her name in Georgia Tech’s record book in a few places this year. Whiteside made her 431st free throw of her career against Boston College, breaking Georgia Tech’s school record of career made free throws. Joyce Pierce (1991-93) previously held the record with 455 made free throws. Whiteside began this season ranked 10th on list with 286 but quickly catapulted up the list and currently has made 502 shots from the foul line. Her 502 career made free throws are seventh in the ACC career record book. Her 483 career free throws made rank seventh among all active players in the NCAA.
Whiteside has also shot up the all-time scoring list. She started off this season with 936 career points. On Nov. 18 she became the 29th Yellow Jacket to score her 1,000th career point. Whiteside has gone from 29th to seventh on GT’s all-time scoring list with her 1,580 career points. She also finishes 10th on Tech’s career 3-pointers made list with 108 made 3-pointers. Whiteside is second all-time on Tech’s single season scoring list with 644 points. Her 19.5 points per game season average is fourth on Tech’s single season scoring average list.
Whiteside isn’t just a scorer, though. She averages 7.2 rebounds per game which is 12th-best in the ACC and leads the Jackets in assists per game, averaging 2.7. The captain also averages 1.7 steals per game. She has recorded five double-doubles this season, including Tech’s first points-assists double-double since 2013.
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