Kiesel named to First-Team All-ACC

Brianna Kiesel’s strong performance this season earned her something that no other Pitt women’s or men’s basketball player has ever achieved: making the First-Team All-ACC.

The ACC’s Blue Ribbon Panel named Kiesel, who averages 18.5 points per game this season, to the First-Team All-ACC on Tuesday, signifying her as one of the top players in the conference.

The senior point guard’s scoring numbers, along with her 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game this season, each rank in the top five in the ACC in each category. She also leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.3.

“Brianna is having an incredible season, and this honor is well-deserved,” head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said in a release.

Kiesel ranks fifth on Pitt’s all-time scoring list with 1,884 points entering Thursday’s ACC Tournament game. In her last outing, she scored 22 points in a comeback win over Clemson on Sunday.

She is also the only Panther in school history to amass more than 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists in a career.

Besides the ACC honors, Kiesel’s strong play is also gaining national attention. She is one of 15 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the nation’s top point guard.

“She has worked so hard, and she impacts our team in so many ways,” McConnell-Serio said. “We are all so proud of her.”

Kiesel and the Panthers (19-10, 9-7 ACC) next take the court on Thursday at 6 p.m. as part of the ACC Tournament. Pitt, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, will face the winner of No. 10 North Carolina State vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech in Greensboro, N.C.