GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball player of the year, while North Carolina State’s Wes Moore has been chosen as coach of the year.
The league released its annual honors Tuesday, the day before the start of the ACC Tournament.
Kitley, a 6-foot-6 junior, finished second in the league in both scoring (17.7 points per game) and rebounding (10.2) for the 21st-ranked Hokies, marking the first time a Virginia Tech player has earned the honor.
She finished ahead of North Carolina State center Elissa Cunane — the preseason pick for player of the year — and Louisville forward Emily Engstler in a vote by the league’s Blue Ribbon Panel that includes media members along with the ACC’s 15 head coaches.
Moore was voted top coach after guiding the third-ranked Wolfpack to the program’s first regular-season title since 1990.
Notre Dame freshman guard Sonia Citron was selected as rookie of the year. Among the coaches, Duke’s Shayeann Day-Wilson was their choice for top rookie while they aligned with the overall panel on Kitley and Moore.
The coaches also voted on additional categories, choosing Georgia Tech’s Lorela Cubaj as defensive player of the year, N.C. State’s Diamond Johnson as sixth player of the year and Boston College’s Cameron Swartz as most improved player.
Kitley’s selection ended a run of four straight years with Cardinals players being selected as top player, though fourth-ranked Louisville was the only team with two first-team all-ACC picks in Engstler and guard Hailey Van Lith.
___
More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
