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
No. 10 Notre Dame	15–3	24–4
No. 11 Duke	14–4	24–5
No. 9 Virginia Tech	14–4	24–4
No. 23 Florida State	12–6	23–8
Louisville	12–6	21–10
No. 22 North Carolina	11–7	20–9
Miami	11–7	18–11
N.C. State	9–9	19–10
Syracuse	9–9	18–11
Clemson	7–11	16–14
Boston College	5–13	15–16
Wake Forest	5–13	14–15
Virginia	4–14	15–14
Georgia Tech	4–14	13–16
Pittsburgh	3–15	10–19

Thursday’s results
No. 9 Virginia Tech 61, No. 22 North Carolina 59
No. 10 Notre Dame 76, Georgia Tech 53
No. 23 Florida State 61, Wake Forest 60
Syracuse 85, Pittsburgh 55
Louisville 71, Miami 50
Clemson 79, Virginia 69
No. 11 Duke 77, N.C. State 62
Sunday’s results
No. 22 North Carolina 45, No. 11 Duke 41
No. 10 Notre Dame 68, Louisville, noon, ESPN3
Miami 84, Virginia 75
Boston College 73, Wake Forest 63
Clemson 74, No. 23 Florida State 61
N.C. State 68, Pittsburgh at 63
No. 9 Virginia Tech 65, Georgia Tech 52
End of regular season

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