Ataira Franklin Named To ACC All-Freshmen Women's Basketball Team

Story Links

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia rookie guard Ataira Franklin (Bowie, Md.) has been named to the 2011 ACC All-Freshmen Women’s Basketball Team, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced Tuesday (March 2).

In addition to leading the league in 3-point field goal percentage (33-for-73, 45 percent), Franklin led UVa in its 14 conference games by averaging a team-high 12.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Entering the ACC Tournament, Franklin has scored in double digits in eight-consecutive contests and was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for her performances against Florida State (16 points), NC State (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Maryland (11 points, eight rebounds).

In conference-only games, Franklin’s 24 3-pointers on 51 attempts (47 percent) rank in second in the ACC.

Franklin has posted two double-doubles this season and is averaging 8.9 points per game. Her career-high was a 19-point performance at Clemson on Jan. 30.

Franklin is the first Cavalier to be named to the ACC All-Freshman team since Monica Wright in 2007.

She is joined on the ACC All-Freshmen team by Chelsea Gray (Duke), Natasha Howard (Florida State), Tyaunna Marshall (Georgia Tech) and Alyssa Thomas (Maryland). Thomas was named the ACC Rookie of the Year.

Virginia (16-14, 5-9 ACC) enters the 2011 ACC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and faces ninth-seeded Wake Forest on Thursday, March 3, at 3 p.m. The game, being played at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., will be televised by the ACC’s Regional Sports Network (Comcast SportsNet in the Charlottesville area).

2011 ACC All-Freshmen Women’s Basketball Team
Chelsea Gray, Fr., G Duke
Natasha Howard, Fr., F Florida State
Tyaunna Marshall, Fr., G Georgia Tech
*Alyssa Thomas, Fr., F Maryland
Ataira Franklin, Fr., G Virginia
* denotes 2011 ACC Rookie of the Year