Three Tar Heels Earn ACC Honors

Three Tar Heels have earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball honors for the 2019-20 season, as announced on Monday by the league.

Junior center Janelle Bailey was named to the All-ACC first team by the Blue Ribbon Panel voters and to the honorable mention list by coaches.

Senior guard Taylor Koenen was named All-ACC honorable mention by both groups.

Freshman forward Malu Tshitenge was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team by both groups.

ACC voting includes two separate ballots, one for the league's coaches (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players) and one for a Blue Ribbon Panel that includes media from around the league.

"We're all proud of Janelle, Taylor and Malu for these great honors," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "It's certainly a big deal to be recognized as one of the top players in a conference like the ACC. The ACC talent pool is so deep and they've all worked really hard to distinguish themselves."

The Tar Heels open ACC Tournament play on Wednesday, taking on Wake Forest at 1 p.m. in the tournament's opening game.

Bailey, UNC's leader in scoring (14.9) and rebounding (9.5), earned all-conference honors for the third year in a row. She was the ACC Freshman of the Year and a member of the All-Freshman team in 2017-18. Last year, she was a second-team selection by the Blue Ribbon Panel.

"The fact that Janelle has been honored for the third year in a row says a lot about the caliber of player that she is," Banghart said. "All season long she has been among the conference leaders in scoring and rebounding, and she's made a giant impact for us defensively. She continues to get better and she made great strides this year to further develop and showcase her game."

This marks the first All-ACC recognition for Koenen. She has been a member of the All-ACC Academic team, which will be announced on Wednesday, in each of the past three years but has never been included in the on-court all-conference honors. This season she's averaging a career-best 14.6 points per game and ranks among the ACC's top 15 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, assists, steals, three-pointers, assist/turnover ratio and minutes played.

"I'm thrilled to see Taylor honored in her final collegiate season," Banghart said. "To have your senior year be your best one on the court is a culmination of great effort. She's done so much for our team this year and it's really special to see her recognized."

Tshitenge is the first Tar Heel on the All-ACC Freshman Team since Bailey in 2018. She leads the ACC in offensive rebounding with 4.2 per game and is averaging 10.6 points and 7.5 rebound per game. She has started all 29 games for the Tar Heels this season and is averaging 10.6 points and 7.5 rebound.

"Malu came in as a freshman and had an immediate and consistent impact. She came in with purpose and stayed coachable throughout." Banghart said. "We really needed her to be game-ready and she proved that she was. I'm really proud of what she's done this year and can't imagine where we'd be without her."

Players Mentioned

Janelle Bailey

Taylor Koenen

Malu Tshitenge

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