University of North Carolina Athletics
DeGraffenreid Named ACC Rookie Of The Week
February 11, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2008
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- North Carolina's Cetera DeGraffenreid and Maryland's Kristi Toliver were named Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Basketball Rookie and Player of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, February 10. DeGraffenreid earns her first newcomer accolade after assisting the third-ranked Tar Heels to a trio of victories over ACC foes Duke, Clemson and Georgia Tech. Toliver, who collects her second honor of the season, rallied the fourth-ranked Terps to come back from the third-largest deficit in NCAA history last week, scoring 28 points in Maryland's eventual 74-71 win over Virginia Tech in overtime.
DeGraffenreid opened the week by recording a game-high 18 points in the No. 3 Tar Heels' 93-76 win at Duke on Monday. The newcomer tied the game-high point tally with veteran and teammate LaToya Pringle, while adding two steals and going a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
Three days later, the freshman guard matched career-highs with 20 points and seven assists in the win over Clemson, a victory that gave head coach Sylvia Hatchell her 500th win at North Carolina. DeGraffenreid, who scored 17 in the first half alone, had three steals and no turnovers in 24 minutes of play.
To close out the week, the Cullowhee, N.C., native gave the Tar Heels a team-high 38 minutes of action in the squad's 75-61 win at Georgia Tech on Sunday. DeGraffenreid averaged 15.3 points for the week.
Toliver gave the No. 4 Terps the spark they needed to come back from a 21-point first half deficit at Virginia Tech on Monday, Feb. 4. The guard from Harrisonburg, Va., scored 28 points, seven coming in the overtime. She shot nearly 63 percent in the game and missed just one free throw in eight trips to the line.
Following up with a 16-point, 12-assist performance in the 86-80 win over Virginia at home, Toliver recorded her seventh double-double of the season. All seven double-doubles have been reached in the categories of points and assists. It was also her ninth double-figure assist game of the season. Nine of her points came in the last six minutes of the game, helping the Terrapins seal the win. Toliver was also perfect from the free throw line, going 8-for-8.
Toliver leads the ACC in assists, averaging 8.11 per game, threatening the conference's single-season record of 8.0. That mark is also good for third in the nation. In addition, the junior's 219 assists rank as the second-most in a single season in Maryland history and the fourth-most in ACC history.
Maryland returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 14 as the Terrapins put their 17 home game winning streak to a test as they welcome Boston College at 7 p.m. ET. North Carolina will next face Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Friday, Feb. 15 in a 7 p.m. regionally-televised tilt.
