March 26, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame fifth-year senior forward/tri-captain Devereaux Peters (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) has been chosen as one of five finalists for the 2012 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division I Defensive Player of the Year award, it was announced Monday by the WBCA. Peters is the first Fighting Irish player to be named a finalist for the honor since it was created in 2007.
A WBCA All-Region I Team selection, as well as a midseason candidate for the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Player of the Year and Naismith Trophy, Peters earned the BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Year award and first-team all-conference accolades for the second consecutive season in 2011-12. She also is the only BIG EAST player to rank among the top 10 in the conference in three of the five major defensive statistical categories — rebounding (2nd at 9.4 rpg.), blocked shots (3rd at 2.0 bpg.) and steals (8th at 2.1 spg.) — while ranking 40th in the nation in both rebounds and blocks.
Peters has tied the school records for 15-rebound games (7) and 15-point/15-rebound games (4) in a single season, with both marks first set nearly 35 years ago during the program’s first varsity season (1977-78). She also amassed a career-high 11 double-doubles this year (tying for sixth-most in school history), including eight during the past 15 games, and she is the first Fighting Irish player to register 70 blocks, 70 steals and 70 assists in a single season.
Joining Peters as 2012 WBCA Defensive Player of the Year finalists are: Brittney Griner (Baylor), Glory Johnson (Tennessee), Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford) and Elizabeth Williams (Duke). The five finalists were tapped from among all Division I conference defensive players of the year, while a selection committee will choose this year’s award recipient. That honoree will be announced during the WBCA Awards Show, to be held at 5 p.m. MT (7 p.m. ET) April 2 in Denver. This event is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
Ranked No. 4 in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, Notre Dame (33-3) will take on No. 5 Maryland in the NCAA Raleigh Regional final (Elite Eight) at 9 p.m. (ET) Tuesday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., with ESPN to televise the game live to a national cable audience (and additional coverage on ESPN3 and WatchESPN). The matchup between the top-seeded Fighting Irish and second-seeded Terrapins also can be heard live on the radio in the Michiana area on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1), as well as worldwide on the Internet at www.UND.com with veteran broadcaster Bob Nagle on the call.
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s basketball program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s basketball Twitter pages (@ndwbbsid or @notredamewbb) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
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