Old Gold & Black photoNews Editor
Old Gold & Black photo
Mulholland demonstrated her soft shooting touch against Georgia Tech last season.
In the Deacons' rather uninspiring, injury-plagued season last year, junior RaeAnna Mullholland was one of the bright spots. Picking up the slack left by injured junior Tracy Conner and starting every game last season, Mulholland was the top scorer, averaging 13.3 points per game, and the top rebounder with 8.1 per game.
As last year's top offensive threat at power forward, Mulholland needs only to find consistency to become an All-ACC caliber player. She gained confidence and experience playing on a gold-medal team at the 1995 Olympic Sports Festival and promises to be a big contributor from the outside this year.
As a freshman, Mulholland was an outstanding contributor. In her first game, she scored 16 points and and had 13 rebounds. Her dynamic play continued when she was named Most Valuable Player of her first collegiate tournament, the ODU-Dial Classic. Although she missed six games with a stress fracture her freshman year, she still averaged 12.4 points in 21 games and 6.2 rebounds. She was also the top Demon Deacon rebounder seven times over the course of her debut season.
A highlight of Mulholland's play last season was a 30-point, 20-rebound effort at Georgia Tech. She contributed statistically at North Carolina with 18 points, a team-high eight rebounds, four steals and three assists. For all games combined last season, she was ranked 13th in scoring and sixth in rebounding in the ACC. She led the Deacons in scoring seven times last season, and she was the top rebounder 11 times.
Shooting 38 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three-point range last season, Mulholland is likely to be more of a factor from the outside this season since the Deacons will be stronger in the paint.
A tough competitor since her years at Pine Forest High School, the Linden native Mulholland was named to the first team all-state by the Greensboro News and Record, and the second team all-state by the Associated Press. She was a three-year MVP of her high school squad, and she set her school's single-game scoring record with 42 points against Cape Fear during her sophomore season.