UNC’s Paulina Paris is ACC Rookie of the Week

By R.L. Bynum

After putting up season-high numbers of 22 points, six 3-pointers and five steals in her first college start, Sunday’s 69–58 victory at Clemson, North Carolina freshman Paulina Paris is the ACC Rookie of the Week.

The Congers, N.Y., freshman averaged 13.5 points and shot 42.9% in No. 11 Carolina’s two road wins, collecting five points, five rebounds and three assists in Thursday’s 72–57 win against Pittsburgh.

“That kid is so solid; she’s so consistent and she just lets the game come to her,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said Monday on her radio show. “I just really trust Paulina with the ball in her hands with the decisions that she makes and, most importantly, she trusts herself. She really believes in herself. “

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Paris is only the second player for UNC to earn a weekly ACC honor this season after junior guard Deja Kelly was named the ACC Player of the Week on Nov. 28.

This is only the third time this season that a player other than Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson has earned the Rookie of the Week honor. Boston College’s Taina Mair won it on Jan. 9 and Georgia Tech’s Tonie Morgan earned the honor on Jan. 23.

Sunday’s game was Paris’ fifth scoring in double figures after she scores 13 vs. Jackson State, 15 against USC Upstate, 15 against Virginia Tech and 16 against Notre Dame. Before going 6 of 12 from 3-point range against the Tigers, her best perimeter game was 3 of 5 against USC Upstate and 3 of 4 against the Irish.

Her best steal totals before Sunday were three against Jackson State and four against South Carolina State.

Team	League	Overall	NET*
No. 10 Louisville	4–0	14–3	12
Virginia	4–0	12–3	37
N.C. State	4–0	11–4	25
Duke	4–0	9–6	19
Syracuse	3–1	13–2	41
Stanford	2–1	13–3	33
No. 22 North Carolina	2–2	13–4	18
Wake Forest	2–2	12–4	118
Notre Dame	2–2	10–4	27
Clemson	2–2	11–5	40
Miami	2–2	10–5	45
Georgia Tech	2–2	7–9	95
Virginia Tech	1–3	11–5	55
Pittsburgh	1–3	8–9	243
California	0–3	9–7	60
SMU	0–4	7–9	142
Florida State	0–4	5–11	109
Boston College	0–4	4–13	248

* — Through Sunday games
Sunday’s games
Stanford 77, No. 22 North Carolina 71, OT
Duke 82, Notre Dame 68
Virginia 91, Florida State 87, 2 OTs
Syracuse 73, Wake Forest 58
Clemson 70, Miami 55
N.C. State 71, California 60
No. 10 Louisville 85, Virginia Tech 60
Georgia Tech 67, SMU 59
Pittsburgh 64, Boston College 621
Thursday’s games
No. 10 Louisville at Miami, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at No. 18 Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Clemson, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Boston College at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 22 North Carolina at Notre Dame, 1 p.m., ESPN
Pittsburgh at No. 10 Louisville, The CW
Syracuse at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at Miami, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Georgia Tech, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at Sanford, 5 p.m., ESPN
SMU at N.C. State, 6 p.m., ACC Network

Date	Month/day	Time/score	Opponent/event (current ranking)	Location	Record
	November
9	Wednesday	W, 91–59	Jackson State	Home	1–0
12	Saturday	W, 75–48	TCU	Home	2–0
16	Wednesday	W, 93–25	South Carolina State	Home	3–0
20	Sunday	W, 76–65	James Madison	Harrisonburg, Va.	4–0
			*Phil Knight Invitational*
24	Thursday	W, 85–79	Oregon	Portland	5–0
27	Sunday	W, 73–64	No. 17 Iowa State	Portland	6–0
	December		*ACC/Big Ten Challenge*
1	Thursday	L, 87–63	No. 2 Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.	6–1
7	Wednesday	W, 64–42	UNCW	Home	7–1
11	Sunday	W, 99–67	Wofford	Home	8–1
16	Friday	W, 89–47	USC Upstate	Home	9–1
			*Jumpman Invitational*
20	Tuesday	L, 76–68	No. 18 Michigan	Charlotte	9–2
			ACC season begins
29	Thursday	L, 78–71	Florida State	Home	9–3, 0–1 ACC
	January
1	Sunday	L, 68–65	No. 4 Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	9–4, 0–2 ACC
5	Thursday	L, 62–58	Miami	Coral Gables, Fla.	9–5, 0–3 ACC
8	Sunday	W, 60–50	No. 10 Notre Dame	Home	10–5, 1–3 ACC
12	Thursday	W, 70–59	Virginia	Charlottesville, Va.	11–5, 2–3 ACC
15	Sunday	W, 56–47	N.C. State	Home	12–5, 3–3 ACC
19	Thursday	W, 61–56	No. 13 Duke	Home	13–5, 4–3 ACC
22	Sunday	W, 70–57	Georgia Tech	Home	14–5, 5–3 ACC
26	Thursday	W, 72–57	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	15–5, 6–3 ACC
29	Sunday	W, 69–58	Clemson	Clemson	16–5, 7–3 ACC
	February
2	Thursday	W, 73–62	Virginia	Home	17–5, 8–3 ACC
5	Sunday	L, 62–55	Louisville	Louisville	17–6, 8–4 ACC
9	Thursday	L, 75–67	Syracuse	Syracuse	17–7, 8–5 ACC
12	Sunday	W, 73–55	Boston College	Home	18–7, 9–5 ACC
16	Thursday	L, 77–66, OT	N.C. State	Raleigh	18–8, 9–6 ACC
19	Sunday	W, 71–58	Wake Forest	Home	19–8, 10–6 ACC
23	Thursday	L, 61–59	No. 4 Virginia Tech	Home	19–9, 10–7 ACC
26	Sunday	W, 45–41	No. 13 Duke	Durham	20–9, 10–8 ACC
	March		*ACC Tournament*
2	Thursday	W, 68–58	Clemson	Greensboro	21–9
3	Friday	L, 44–40	No. 13 Duke	Greensboro	21–10
			*NCAA tournament*
18	Saturday	W, 61–59	St. John’s	Columbus, Ohio	22–10
20	Monday	L, 71–69	No. 12 Ohio State	Columbus, Ohio	22–11