Feb. 27, 2006

By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - As expected, North Carolina, Duke and Maryland were well-represented on The Associated Press all-Atlantic Coast Conference team. Miami's Tamara James kept her spot, too.

The leading scorer in the conference made the first team for the second consecutive season Monday, joining unanimous selections Ivory Latta from the Tar Heels and Monique Currie from the Blue Devils.

Erlana Larkins, Latta's teammate, and Maryland's Crystal Langhorne rounded out the first five in voting by 70 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Top-ranked North Carolina had another player on the third team, while No. 2 Duke and No. 4 Maryland each had two on the second team.

"I don't really put a lot of emphasis or attention in individual awards," said Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell, who led her team to the regular season ACC title.

"When you talk to our players, they're always talking about their teammates and giving credit to their teammates, because they know they wouldn't accomplish anything without their teammates."

James averaged nearly 21 points and led the ACC in steals while helping the Hurricanes secure the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. Miami was picked to finish 11th in the preseason before finishing 6-8, tied with Boston College and Virginia Tech.

"Please don't give me the credit. You've got to start with Tamara James," first-year Hurricanes coach Katie Meier said. "I just want to make sure she gets the recognition she deserves. It's quite amazing what she's done."

Latta was right behind James in scoring at 18.2 points a game, and she was in the top five in five other conference categories. Her play is a big reason the Tar Heels (26-1) swept Duke in the regular season for the second-straight year and reached No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time.

Currie's scoring fell a couple of points this season because the Blue Devils (25-2) had more offensive options, but she continued to be their go-to player. She had a career-high 31 points in a victory over the Terrapins that assured Duke of the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

Langhorne was the third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder in the ACC as Maryland (26-3) completed the winningest regular season in school history. Teammates Marissa Coleman and Shay Doron were on the second team, joined by Duke's Mistie Williams and Lindsey Harding.

Boston College's Brooke Queenan rounded out the second team.

Perhaps the lone surprise on the first team was Larkins, a sophomore center who averaged 12.7 points. That was good for 13th in the conference.

The third team was made up of North Carolina's Camille Little, Wake Forest's Cotelia Bond-Young, Florida State's Alicia Gladden, Virginia Tech's Kerri Gardin and Virginia's Sharnee Zoll.

(1st Team Vote - 3 points; 2nd Team Vote - 2 points; 3rd Team Vote - 1 point) 

First Team (1st Team Votes) Total points
Monique Currie, Duke (70*) 210
Ivory Latta, North Carolina (70*) 210
Crystal Langhorne, Maryland (65) 205
Tamara James, Miami (57) 192
Erlana Larkins, North Carolina (31) 163

*unanimous 1st-team selection

Second Team
Brooke Quennan, Boston College 114
Mistie Williams, Duke 110
Marissa Coleman, Maryland 108
Shay Doron, Maryland 98
Lindsey Harding, Duke 88

Third Team
Cotelia Bond-Young, Wake Forest 86
Alicia Gladden, Florida State 78
Camille Little, North Carolina 65
Kerri Gardin, Virginia Tech 61
Sharnee' Zoll, Virginia 56

Honorable Mention (25 or more points)
Renee Taylor, Miami 53
Tiffany Stansbury, NC State 41