March 1, 2005

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- After tying for the regular-season title, Duke and North Carolina headlined The Associated Press all-ACC women's basketball team released Tuesday.

The Blue Devils and Tar Heels each had three selections to the 2004-05 team, led by Duke junior Monique Currie. Currie was an unanimous first-team selection in voting by 74 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Currie was joined by third-team picks Mistie Williams and Jessica Foley.

North Carolina sophomore Ivory Latta led the Tar Heel trio, earning 55 votes to make the first team. Freshman Erlana Larkins was a second-team pick, while sophomore Camille Little made the third team.

The teams each finished 12-2 in the league, but fourth-ranked North Carolina (24-3) earned the No. 1 seed in this week's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament by sweeping the season series. That included Sunday's 77-68 road win, their first at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1997.

Sixth-ranked Duke (26-3) is looking for its sixth straight tournament title.

Joining Currie and Latta on the first team is Miami junior Tamara James -- the nation's second-leading scorer at 23 points per game -- Maryland's Shay Doron and Florida State's Roneeka Hodges.

Currie, a second-team pick in 2002 and 2004, averaged 18 points and seven rebounds per game despite playing the past month with stress fractures in her left foot. But she had no problem coming up big when the Blue Devils, who had just eight players most of this year, needed her.

``It's difficult to defend her because she picks and chooses her spots when she's going to explode,'' Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph said. ``She kind of lulls you to sleep. You think you have her under control, and then she scores a huge amount of points quickly.''

James' 59 first-place votes was second to Currie, and the junior continued her torrid scoring pace all season despite defenses keying on stopping her. She cracked the 30-point mark five times, with a high of 39 against Fairfield in December.

``She always finds a way to score,'' Miami coach Ferne Labati said. ``She has really, really, really worked hard this year. And to me, she's the heart and soul of our team.''

The 5-foot-6 Latta was a second-team pick last year. She averaged 16 points per game, ending with 23 points and the go-ahead 3-pointer in Sunday's win against the Blue Devils. Doron, a sophomore, and Hodges, a senior, each averaged nearly 19 points per game.

Maryland freshman Crystal Langhorne led the second team, joining Larkins, Virginia's LaTonya Blue, Wake Forest's Liz Strunk and N.C. State's Tiffany Stansbury.

Williams, Foley and Little were joined on the third team by Wake Forest's Cotelia Bond-Young and NC State's Billie McDowell.

2005 All-ACC Women's Basketball Team