Freshman guard Skylar Diggins and senior guards Ashley Barlow and Lindsay Schrader each garnered all-region honors, which were announced Tuesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Forty players will be chosen from the 52 all-region nominees to become members of the 2010 State Farm Coaches' All-America Team.
This is the first time in team history that three Notre Dame players have received this honor in the same season. The Irish have only fielded multiple selections three times in their history, and only ten different players have earned the honor.
Diggins is one of just three freshman this year to earn the honor, along with Delaware forward Elena Donne and Baylor center Brittney Griner.
"[Diggins] is doing it all every single night, she has been incredibly consistent for a freshman," McGraw said. "She has really had a fantastic year and wants to get better."
Barlow said she is pleased that all the time she has put into the team working hard has finally paid off.
"I feel like people are noticing what I am doing. It is a big accomplishment for me," Barlow said. "I have been working really hard, so I feel like I got rewarded this year. It is a really big honor."
Schrader has been McGraw's go-to player all year when she has needed a big shot, but Schrader is focused on just doing the little things every game that give her team a better shot at winning the game.
"I was pretty shocked [about earning all-region honors]," Schrader said. "I always consider myself a really blue-collar kind of player. I am not going to score twenty points for you, but I will do all the little things for you: rebound, set a good screen, and all the little things for you."
Notre Dame is among just three teams in the country with three all-region selections. The other two are top-seeded squads Connecticut and Tennessee.
