Three Women's Basketball Players Named All-Americans

Sandora Irvin

CHICAGO - Three Conference USA women's basketball players have been named All-Americans by the Women's Basketball News Service, the organization announced today. Houston sophomore forward Chandi Jones was named as a second team All-American and also received the organization's National Comeback Player of the Year award. TCU center Sandora Irvin and Cincinnati center Debbie Merrill were each named as Freshmen All-Americans.

Jones followed up her Freshman of the Year honor last season by being named C-USA's Player of the Year as a sophomore, just the second underclassmen to win the honor. She returned from a torn ACL that caused her to miss the final 12 games of last season to lead Conference USA in scoring at 22.5 points per game, scoring at a 25.6 clip per outing in conference play. Jones reached the 1,000-point plateau faster than any other player in league history, reaching the milestone in 46 games, 11 games faster than anyone else. She has reached double-figure scoring in all 47 of her career games.

Irvin was named as a second team Freshman All-American after leading all Conference USA freshmen in rebounding at 9.3 per game and ranking third among first-year players in scoring at 11.0 points per game. The niece of former star Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, Sandora recorded eight double-doubles this season while helping the No. 25 Horned Frogs to the regular season C-USA title in their first season in the league. Irvin also shattered the TCU single-season blocked shot record, ranking second in Conference USA with 78 rejections.

Merrill was named to the Freshman All-American third team after leading all C-USA freshmen scorers at 15.1 per game, while ranking second among first-year players in rebounding at 8.2 per contest. The Conference USA Freshman of the Year, Merrill has helped the Bearcats to the No. 23 ranking in this week's Associated Press poll and registered nine double-doubles on the season.

The 2002 Conference USA Tournament is currently taking place at the DePaul Athletic Center in Chicago. The tournament will run from March 1-Monday, March 4. The championship game will be televised by ESPN 2 on March 4 at 10:00 p.m. CST.


2001-2002 WBNS POST SEASON HONORS LIST
Player-of-the-Year: Sue Bird, Connecticut
Freshman-of-the-Year: Jaqueline Batteast, Notre Dame
Defensive Player-of-the-Year: LaNeisha Caufield, Oklahoma
Comeback Player-of-the-Year: Chandi Jones, Houston
Coach-of-the-Year: Brenda Oldfield, Minnesota

2001-2002 COLLEGE ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

First Team
Sue Bird, 5-9, G, Sr, Connecticut
Swin Cash, 6-1, F, Sr, Connecticut
Kelly Mazzante, 6-0, G, So, Penn State
LaToya Thomas, 6-2, F, Jr, Mississippi State
Alana Beard, 5-11, G, So, Duke
Chantelle Anderson, 6-6, C, Jr, Vanderbilt
Stacey Dales, 6-0, G, Sr, Oklahoma
Lindsey Wilson, 5-9, G, So, Iowa State
Nicole Ohlde, 6-4, C, So, Kansas State
Diana Taurasi, 6-0, G, So, Connecticut

Second Team
LaNeisha Caufield, 5-9, G, Sr, Oklahoma
Angie Welle, 6-4, C, Sr, Iowa State
Lindsay Whalen, 5-8, G, So, Minnesota
Shereka Wright, 5-10, F, So, Purdue
Linda Frohlich, 6-2, F, Sr, UNLV
Kara Lawson, 5-9, G, Jr, Tennessee
Danielle Crockrom, 6-2, C, Sr, Baylor
Zuzi Klimesova, 6-2, F, Sr, Vanderbilt
Jocelyn Penn, 6-0, F, Jr, South Carolina
Chandi Jones, 5-10, G, So, Houston

Third Team:
Stacy Stephens, 6-1, F, So, Texas
Tamika Williams, 6-2, C/F, Sr, Connecticut
Asjha Jones, 6-2, F, Sr, Connecticut
Nicole Powell, 6-2, F/G, So, Stanford
Bryn Britton, 5-10, G, Sr, Loyola Marymount
Ashley McElhiney, 5-5, G Jr Vanderbilt
Shavnzinski Gortman, 6-1, G, Sr South Carolina
Gergana Slautcheva, 6-1, G/F, Sr, Florida International
Sheila Lambert, 5-7, G, Sr, Baylor
Vanessa Hayden, 6-4, C, So, Florida