University of North Carolina Athletics
Atkinson Named To ACC All-Defensive Team
February 28, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2006
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- North Carolina senior La'Tangela Atkinson had been named to the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Basketball All-Defensive Team for 2005-06, as voted by the league's coaches and announced Tuesday by the ACC.
The league also announced the ACC All-Freshman team, with Tar Heel rookie Rashanda McCants earning honorable mention. That team was selected by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Joining Atkinson on the five-member All-Defensive team were Boston College's Aja Parham, Florida State's Alicia Gladden, NC State's Ashley Key and Duke's Lindsey Harding, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Atkinson, who has started all 27 games this season and serves as one of the team captains, is averaging 8.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She also contributes 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, but her stats don't fully illustrate her value to the Tar Heels, 26-1 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.
"She's taken on the responsibility of defending some of the best players in the country this season and she has done an excellent job," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "She's an intelligent defensive player and a really good one-on-one defender."
Atkinson, a 6-2 guard/forward from Bishopville, S.C., has excelled at rebounding throughout her career and currently ranks seventh in school history with 961 career rebounds, good for 18th in ACC history. She is also 23rd at UNC in career scoring and 11th in assists. She is the first player in school history to total more than 900 rebounds and 350 assists.
"She does a lot of things that make a big difference for us - her defense, her rebounding, her scoring and her leadership, yet she really stays under the radar," Hatchell says. "She doesn't want any credit, but she definitely deserves it."
McCants, a 6-1 forward from Asheville, N.C., is the team's top scoring freshman with 6.7 points per game. She has come off the bench to play in all but one game this season.
ACC All-Defensive Team
Lindsey Harding (Duke) - ACC Defensive Player of the Year
La'Tangela Atkinson (UNC)
Alicia Gladden (FSU)
Ashley Key (NC State)
Aja Parham (Boston College)
ACC All-Freshman Team
Marissa Coleman (Maryland) *
Deirdre Naughton (Wake Forest)
Abby Waner (Duke)
Kristi Tolliver (Maryland)
Britany Miller (FSU)
Honorable mention:
Lyndra Lyttles (Virginia)
Rashanda McCants (UNC)
* - unanimous selection
