Dec. 21, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina’s Cetera DeGraffenreid and Maryland’s Tianna Hawkins earned Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, for the week ending Dec. 20. DeGraffenreid scored a career-high 26 points and added 10 assists en route to her second double-double of the season against South Carolina, while Hawkins tallied her third double-double of the season in the Terrapins’ first 2009-10 road win at American.

DeGraffenreid scored a career-high 26 points and matched a career-mark 10 assists in leading 10th-ranked North Carolina to a 93-85 win over South Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The junior guard helped the Tar Heels overcome a six-point second-half deficit, scoring 18 points and dishing out six assists after the break. The 26 point-10 assist performance gives the Cullowhee, N.C., native two double-doubles on the season. In addition, DeGraffenreid only turned the ball over three times in 37 minutes of action.

Hawkins earned her third career double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds to help Maryland earn its first road victory of the season. The forward from Clinton, Md., has posted double-digit points in seven games now for the Terrapins and tallied 20 or more points on two occasions. Hawkins currently leads Maryland in rebounds, averaging 7.8 boards per game, and has pulled down double-figure rebounds four times this season. Hawkins was 8-of-10 from the field, contributing to the 38 points Maryland scored in the paint. Her on-point shooting added to the Terps’ second-best shooting performance this season (51.9 percent (28-of-54)). In addition, Hawkins recorded the second-most points of any player in the game and tied her season-best defensive rebound showing with six.

ACC women’s basketball returns to action tonight as four league teams take on non-conference opponents. Clemson is the only league team hosting (Wofford), while the other three take to the road, including Duke at Maine, Miami at Cornell and Florida State in its final game of the Duel in the Desert Tournament, held in Las Vegas, Nev.