Only a day after Sports Illustrated for Women picked Beard as its top freshman in the nation, CBS Sportsline bestowed the same honor today on the Blue Devils' forward, who has had the most dominant season of any freshman in Duke women's basketball history.
Beard has led Duke on both sides of the court this season. In addition to averaging 16.8 points per game, she shattered assistant coach Joanne Boyle's Duke record for steals in a season by tallying 3.6 per game. Also yesterday, the ACC released its all-conference teams and Beard became the first player in the league's history to be named to the first-team, joining reigning ACC player of the year Georgia Schweitzer.
In four years that may have been the best ever played by a member of the Duke women's basketball program, Schweitzer led her team to its fourth straight 20-win season. Although her scoring average came down after the transition from shooting guard to point guard this season, Schweitzer dominated in other aspects of running the offense. The six-foot senior is second in the ACC in three-point field-goal percentage, second in assists and first in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Schweitzer remains the top candidate to again win ACC player of the year, while Beard is almost a lock to run away with conference rookie of the year.
Sophomore Sheana Mosch also received All-ACC honors, landing on the third-team after she averaged better than 14 points in conference games. Mosch's late-game heroics led the Blue Devils to several victories, including both wins over North Carolina. Senior Rochelle Parent, who drew difficult assignments against players like UNC's LaQuanda Barksdale and Virginia's Schuye LaRue, was named to the All-ACC defensive team along with Beard.
CBS Sportsline also selected Duke coach Gail Goestenkors as runner-up for national coach of the year.
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