Notre Dame Basketball: Jewell Loyd Named Unanimous AP All-American
Unanimous in the preseason, still unanimous after. Notre Dame’s Jewell Loyd joined Connecticut’s Breanna Stewart as unanimous selections for this years Associated Press All-American team. The panel that made the selections is the same that votes for the weekly Top 25.
For only the second time since the AP started recognizing All-Americans–starting in 1996–there were no seniors on the first-team. It was however the eighth straight season with at least one unanimous selection.
Loyd averaged 20.1 points per game this season, and has helped lead a team with only one senior seeing significant minutes. Once again, Muffet McGraw’s teams were expected to have a “down” year after losing Kayla McBride and Natalie Achonwa, yet they have made it to the their fifth consecutive Final Four.
Loyd and Stewart are joined on the first-team by Baylor’s Nina Davis, South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell and Minnesota’s Amanda Zahui B.
The Irish just defeated Davis and the Baylor Bears, and will now get a look at Mitchell and the Gamecocks in the Final Four. There are no “gimmies” in college basketball, not with an All-American seemingly every next game.
The Irish, Bears and Huskies have dominated the All-American list in recent years, with players like BU’s Brittney Griner, UConn’s Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (2nd team) and Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins. But for SC’s Mitchell, she is the first to receive the accolade for the school. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley sees the effort she put in to earn the honor.
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“I think you have to start with one, and I’m glad it’s someone like Tiffany Mitchell who puts the work in,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said. “I’m hoping her teammates will see how hard she’s worked to put herself in this position and adhere to the amount of work that you need to put in to get these distinguished recognitions.”
The voting for the AP All-American team was voted on before the NCAA Tournament began.