April 3, 2009
ATLANTA - Maryland senior guard/forward Marissa Coleman has been named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division I National Player of the Month for March.
The third month of the year was very kind to Coleman, Maryland's second all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She helped her team claim its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in 20 years on March 1 in Miami and was named ACC Tournament MVP a week later in guiding the Terps to the tournament crown in Greensboro, N.C. - also Maryland's first such title since 1989.
She would then go on to average 21.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals in the 2009 NCAA Tournament in piloting the Terps to the Elite Eight. In one of the most incredible single-game performances in Maryland history, Coleman scored a school-record 42 points with 15 rebounds in guiding the Terps to a comeback victory (from 18 points) over Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 in Raleigh, N.C. She went 15-for-27 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line.
The Cheltenham, Md., native was a four-time All-ACC selection after earning first team laurels this year. She ranks in the top-15 in nine of the 10 major statistical categories in ACC play and became the first player in ACC history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks and just the eighth player in league annals with 2,000 points and 1,000 career rebounds.
On the year, Coleman averaged 18.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 steals per contest. She is tied for second all-time at Maryland in made three-pointers (172) and fourth in blocks (141). She has played in 144 career games, the most in school history, including 138 straight contests.
Earlier this week Coleman was named a United States Basketball Writers Association All-American and earned a second-team nod on the Associated Press All-America Team.
She was recently named a State Farm Coaches' All-America Team finalist and is one of 12 players remaining on The State Farm Wade Trophy watch list. Both the All-America Team and Wade Trophy winner will be announced on Saturday, April 4, at the WBCA National Convention in St. Louis, Mo.
