Jan. 4, 2010

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Miami’s Shenise Johnson and Virginia’s Monica Wright shared this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor for the period ending Jan. 3, while Maryland’s Diandre Tchatchouang earned the league’s Rookie of the Week. Johnson scored over 100 points over the award’s extended two-week stretch, which included wins over Cornell and North Florida, while Wright averaged nearly 24 points per game in a 3-0 week for Virginia.

Johnson began the two-week period with a then-career-high 27 point performance at Cornell. The sophomore guard followed that performance with a near-triple-double outing in the opening round of the Miami Wyndham Holiday Tournament with 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Against No. 17/22 Texas she led the Hurricanes with 17 points and added six rebounds. The Henrietta, N.Y., native was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts. After a win against UNF, she scored a new career-high with 29 points at Miami (OH). In that game, Johnson also had nine rebounds, six assists and six steals. In all, Johnson scored 105 points, grabbed 38 rebounds – 18 on the offensive end – and had 27 assists and 17 steals compared to only 11 turnovers.

Wright averaged 23.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.3 steals per game in a 3-0 week for the Cavaliers. The senior guard moved into second place on Virginia’s all-time scoring list and is currently 54 points away from becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer. Wright opened the two-week stretch with a 28-point, nine-rebound and six-steal showing against visiting Samford in the opening round of the Marriott Cavalier Classic at John Paul Jones Arena. The Woodbridge, Va., native then posted 19 points and tied a school-record with 10 steals to lead Virginia to its sixth-consecutive Cavalier Classic title. Virginia has now won 21 of the 24 Cavalier Classic team titles since the tournament began in 1976. Wright was named the Tournament’s MVP after the 63-54 win over in-state foe Liberty.

Tchatchouang led the Terrapins in all three games over the holiday break. The freshman forward was named to the Terrapin Classic All-Tournament team after posting a team-high 14 points in the title game, a 67-61 win over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. Tchatchouang went on to lead the Terps after the first 20 minutes with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting and three blocks against Saint Joseph’s. The La Courneuve, France, native finished with career-highs of 25 points (9-for-15) and five blocks and added six rebounds in the winning effort. Tchatchouang has tallied double-figure points 14 times, including 11-consecutive contests. In addition to leading the team in points (14.8 ppg), the rookie has eclipsed the 20-point mark three times.

ACC women’s basketball action continues tonight as three ACC squads host non-conference opponents (NC State, Virginia, and Wake Forest). For more information on ACC women’s basketball, log onto theACC.com.