March 2, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Maryland's Marissa Coleman was named Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the third straight week, while NC State's Bonae Holston earned this week's Rookie nod for the period ending March 1. Coleman picked up her league-leading (among active players) seventh career Player of the Week honor after leading the fifth-ranked Terrapins to their first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 20 years with the squad's 89-64 victory over Miami in the regular-season finale.

Coleman continued her high-level of play during the Terps' nine-game win streak, leading No. 5 Maryland in scoring (24.5 ppg), rebounding (12.5 rpg), field goal percentage (66.7 pct; 20-for-30) and steals (1.5 spg) in a pair of wins over Boston College and Miami to close our the 2009 regular season. The senior posted career-high efforts in points (32 vs BC) and rebounds (16 vs Miami) and tallied her seventh double-double of the season against the Hurricanes. She also averaged 3.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game and went 7-for-9 from the free-throw line.

The veteran from Cheltenham, Md., moved into 15th place in ACC history following Sunday's contest in scoring, surpassing NC State's Chasity Melvin (1995-98), and now stands with 2,049 career points. Coleman also moved into 13th place in rebounding with 1,060 career rebounds, passing NC State's Trudi Lacey (1978-81) on the charts.

Holston continued her incredible play in the ACC last week, averaging 17.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals and one block in three games. The rookie began the week with 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals against No. 9 North Carolina. She then scored a season-high 24 points (10-14 FG), hauled in 10 boards, and had two blocks in a dominating win over Clemson. The forward scored 22 points in the second half alone, including 13-straight Wolfpack points in the team's 69-43 victory over the Tigers.

The newcomer from Newport News, Va., finished the regular season at Boston College with her fifth double-double in league play with 12 points and 11 rebounds and also was active on defense with a career-high five steals. Holston has put herself in the conversations for ACC Rookie of the Year honors by averaging 12.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in conference play. Both figures rank in the Top 2 among ACC rookies in league games only. In addition, she has scored in double figures in nine of 14 ACC games and scored 20 or more points three times.

The honor marks the second weekly accolade for Holston, who also shared the honor on Feb. 16 with Florida State's Cierra Bravard.

The 32nd Annual ACC Women's Basketball Tournament is set to tip-off at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 5, and will conclude with a 1 p.m. championship contest on Sunday, March 8. The title game as well as the semifinals showings will be broadcast by Fox Sports Net (FSN), while the 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. games on Thursday, March 5, and Friday, March 6, will be televised on the league's regional package (RSN).