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Whiteside Tabbed Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year

March 2, 2016

ATLANTA – Georgia Tech women’s basketball senior Aaliyah Whiteside was tabbed as the Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday.

“I am excited for Aaliyah to win this prestigious award,” head coach MaChelle Joseph said. “She has worked extremely hard to become a dominate player in the ACC. Aaliyah is our seventh player in seven years to win this award and we are very proud of what this type of recognition means to our program.”

This is the seventh straight year that a Yellow Jacket has won the award. A Tech student-athlete has claimed the honor in eight of the last nine years. Whiteside’s honor marks the eighth time a Jacket has been named the Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year under head coach . Overall, 10 Yellow Jackets have been named the Georgia Women’s College Player of the Year a total of 11 times.

Whiteside was most recently was named First Team-All ACC by the ACC’s Blue Ribbon Panel. She has led the ACC in scoring the entire year. She is averaging 19.4 points per game which leads the league and is 38th in the NCAA. She also leads the ACC in scoring in conference games with 18.9 points per game. Whiteside has recorded an ACC-high 16 20+ point games. She scored 31 points on two separate occasions against NC State and Clemson. Whiteside has scored in double figures in 27 of 29 games this season and has led the Yellow Jackets on the offensive end in 19 games.

Whiteside isn’t just a scorer though. She averages 7.2 rebounds per game which is 10th-best in the ACC and leads the Jackets in assists per game, averaging 2.7. The captain also averages 1.6 steals per game. She has recorded five double-doubles this season, including Tech’s first points-assists double-double since 2013.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 475 shots from the foul line. Whiteside ranks second in the nation in made free throws and fourth in attempted free throws this season. Her 475 career free throws made rank eighth 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 ninth on GT’s all-time scoring list with her 1,499 career points. She needs 59 more points to tie Joyce Pierce for 8th. She is also in 10th on Tech’s career 3-pointers made list with 104 made 3-pointers.

Whiteside and the Yellow Jackets are back in action on Thursday as the #7 seed in the 2016 ACC Tournament. Georgia Tech faces #10 Wake Forest at 6:00 p.m. in the second round on RSN/ESPN3 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

–TogetherWeSwarm–

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