University of North Carolina Athletics
Breland, Lucas Named To Naismith Midseason Top 30
February 14, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2011
ATLANTA --- The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the 2010-11 Naismith midseason list of the top 30 women's basketball talent in the nation Monday, and North Carolina seniors Jessica Breland and Italee Lucas were among the selections. Breland and Lucas have led the Tar Heels in scoring throughout the season and have helped UNC to a 22-4 record so far in 2010-11.
The midseason 30 list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the 2010-11 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy, presented by AT&T, will be awarded on April 4, 2011 at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Indianapolis.
Six of the 30 selections come from the Atlantic Coast Conference. In addition to the Tar Heel pair, Boston College's Carolyn Swords, Duke's Jasmine Thomas and Miami's Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams were named to the midseason list. Only North Carolina, Tennessee, Xavier, Miami, Stanford and Connecticut had two selections.
"From coast to coast you will see some of the most exciting basketball anywhere and the level of competition is outstanding," said Eric Oberman, Atlanta Tipoff Club executive director. "I expect the race for this year's Naismith Trophy to go right down to the wire."
Since 2005, presenting sponsor AT&T has set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining the trophy winner. Through the power and ease of text messaging, fan voting will account for 25 percent of all of the final results - more than any other national college basketball award.
"AT&T is proud to give college basketball fans - arguably the most enthusiastic sports fans - the chance to applaud their favorite student-athletes' performances," said Jamie Kerr, senior manager, AT&T National Sponsorships. "Through our text-message voting program, fans have the chance to select the winner of the prestigious 2011 Women's Naismith Trophy."
