NOTRE DAME — For the first time in school history, two Notre Dame women’s basketball players have been named to the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Team, as senior guard/tri-captain Kayla McBride and sophomore guard Jewell Loyd were voted to the 10-player squad, it was announced Monday by the USBWA.

This marks the third consecutive season Notre Dame has been represented on the USBWA All-America Team, with Skylar Diggins earning a place on the squad in back-to-back year (2012 and 2013). In addition, Ruth Riley was selected for the 2001 USBWA All-America Team on the way to being chosen as the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year.

All 10 members of the All-America team are finalists for that award, with the 2014 recipient to be announced at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

Loyd is one of two underclassmen on this year’s USBWA All-America Team (along with Connecticut sophomore Breanna Stewart), with the other eight players on the squad (including McBride) all being seniors: Stefanie Dolson (Connecticut), Bria Hartley (Connecticut), Maggie Lucas (Penn State), Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford), Shoni Schimmel (Louisville), Odyssey Sims (Baylor) and Alyssa Thomas (Maryland).

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) had three representatives (Loyd, McBride, Thomas) on this year’s USBWA All-America Team, second-most of any league behind the American Athletic Conference. In fact, no other league had more than one honoree besides the ACC and the American.

The USBWA All-America Team is comprised of the nation’s 10 best players, regardless of position, as selected by the USBWA membership based on regular season performance.

Loyd (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) and McBride (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) both are finalists for the Wade Trophy and Wooden Award (and McBride also is one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy) given to the national player of the year. In addition, McBride was a unanimous choice as an espnW first-team All-American, while Loyd was an espnW second-team All-America selections.

Additional All-America teams and national honors (for both players and coaches) are expected to be announced within the next week.

Also a WBCA Coaches All-Region II choice, and the ACC Player of the Year, McBride is one of the country’s top all-around players. A member of the 2014-16 USA Basketball National Team Player Pool, McBride has started all 35 games for Notre Dame this season, registering career highs of 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game with a 1.93 assist/turnover ratio, while posting a team-high 12 20-point games.

McBride is a fixture among the ACC sta