June 24, 2004

DURHAM, N.C. - For the second straight year, Alana Beard has been selected one of five nominees for the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award, which will be given on ESPN Sunday, July 18 at 9:00 p.m. Along with Beard, Tara Kirk (Stanford swimming), Cat Reddick (North Carolina soccer), Diana Taurasi (Connecticut basketball) and Jessica van der Linden (Florida State softball) are nominees.

Voting for the award will be done by fans so go to the following site to submit your vote for Beard.

ESPN Voting Page

Beard, the consensus National Player of the Year, led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in scoring (19.7) and finished the season with averages of 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks a contest, while leading Duke to a 30-4 record and a Mideast Region Final appearance. The Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll for the first time in school history and finished her career with eight ACC Championships- four tournament and four regular season titles.

She was named Wooden Award, Associated Press, State Farm Wade Trophy, USBWA and ESPN.com National Player of the Year for her efforts. Beard, a 5-11 native of Shreveport, La., was also named winner of the Bayer Advantage Senior Class Award and Kodak All-America for the third straight year.

For her career, Beard compiled 2,687 points, 789 rebounds, 509 assists, 404 steals and 149 blocks. She became the first player in NCAA men's or women's history to register over 2,500 points and 400 assists and will leave Duke as the all-time leading scorer for men and women. She led the Blue Devils to two NCAA Final Four appearances and became only the second woman to be named Associated Press first team All-America on three occasions.

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