April 1, 2008

IRVING, Texas - UTEP's Natasha Lacy and SMU's Janielle Dobbs were named to The Associated Press women's basketball All-America team Tuesday.

Lacy, a native of El Paso, Texas, becomes the second player in the 34-year history of the program to grab All-America accolades. Former Miner great Sharon Jackson was so honored during the 1983-84 campaign by the American Women Sports Federation (AWSF).

The Conference USA Newcomer of the Year made an immediate impact at UTEP after transferring from TCU. She finished eighth in the country in steals per game and set a school record with 108 total thefts. She was second on the squad in assists (156), scoring (13.0 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and total blocks (20).

As a second-team all-league honoree, Lacy ranked second in C-USA in steals, fifth in assists, sixth in assist-to-turnover ration, 10th in defensive rounding, 12th in scoring and 17th in overall rebounding.

Dodds, a first-team All-C-USA selection for the second straight year, finished her career as SMU's record holder in points (1,861) and rebounds (974). She also took over third-place on the Mustangs all-time blocked shots list with 110. She ended the 2007-08 season averaging 15.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg.

SMU's NCAA Tournament capped off a remarkable season for the program, who won a school-record 24 games, won the C-USA Tournament title and reached the NCAA Championship for the seventh time in school history.

Dodds earned Kodak Freshman All-America honors in her first season, and she also has earned all-conference recognition in each of her three seasons at SMU. In her first year on the Hilltop, Dodds established new SMU freshman records for most points (423), most rebounds (246), most field goals attempted (374), most free throws attempted (150) and most free throws made (114). Dodds also was named Western Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-WAC in her first season at SMU.

Lacy and Dodds are both potential picks in the upcoming WNBA draft which will be held on April 9.

The 2007-08 AP women's All-America basketball team with school, height, class and key regular-season statistics, followed in parentheses by first-team votes and points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis by a 50-member national media panel:

FIRST TEAM
Candace Parker, Tennessee, 6-5, junior, 21.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.3 blocks, 2.3 steals, .548 fg pct (50 first-place votes, 250 points).
Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 6-4, junior, 18.6 ppg, 15.0 rpg, 3.5 blocks, .561 fg pct (42, 234).
Candice Wiggins, Stanford, 5-11, senior, 19.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.1 steals, 77 3-pointers (41, 232).
Sylvia Fowles, LSU, 6-6, senior, 17.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.8 blocks, .597 fg pct (41, 232).
Maya Moore, Connecticut, 6-0, freshman, 18.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.6 steals, .550 fg pct (37, 222).

SECOND TEAM
Crystal Langhorne, Maryland, 6-2, senior, 17.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, .647 fg pct (5, 151).
Erlana Larkins, North Carolina, 6-1, senior, 13.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, .539 fg pct (11, 149).
Angel McCoughtry, Louisville, 6-1, junior, 23.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 4.1 steals, .467 fg pct (6, 126).
Kristi Toliver, Maryland, 5-7, junior, 16.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 7.5 apg, 1.5 steals, 75 3-pointers (13, 138)
Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State, 5-11, sophomore, 23.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.1 apg, 3.0 steals, 70 3-pointers (2, 107).

THIRD TEAM
Amber Holt, Middle Tennessee State, 6-0, senior, 27.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.2 rpg, 2.4 steals, .513 fg pct (1, 43)
Renee Montgomery, Connecticut, 5-7, junior, 14.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, 68 3-pointers (1, 43)
Leilani Mitchell, Utah, 5-5, senior, 16.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 7.5 apg, 1.8 steals, .472 fg pct (1, 37)
Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers, 5-9, sophomore, 14.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.5 steals, 37 3-pointers (0, 34)
Tina Charles, Connecticut, 6-4, sophomore, 14.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.7 blocks, .605 fg pct (0, 29)

HONORABLE MENTION (In alphabetical order)
Charel Allen, Notre Dame; Rachel Allison, Baylor; Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin; Matee Ajavon, Rutgers; Jayne Appel, Stanford; Kimberly Beck, George Washington; Chante Black, Duke; Shannon Bobbitt, Tennessee; DeWanna Bonner, Auburn; Essence Carson, Rutgers; Kristi Cirone, Illinois State; Marissa Coleman, Maryland; Kimberly Dietz, Kansas State; Janelle Dodds, SMU. Natalie Doma, Idaho State; Robyn Fairbanks, Utah Valley State; Claire Faucher, Portland State; A'Quonesia Franklin, Texas A&M; Devanei Hampton, California; Laura Harper, Maryland; Tasha Humphrey, Georgia. Charde Houston, Connecticut; Briann January, Arizona State; Crystal Kelly, Western Kentucky; Natasha Lacy, UTEP; Jantel Lavender, Ohio State; Jeomi Maduka, Cornell; Jackie McFarland, Colorado; Lindsey Pluimer, UCLA; LaToya Pringle, North Carolina. Allie Quigley, DePaul; Adrianne Ross, TCU; Olayinka Sanni, West Virginia; Jenna Smith, Illinois; Takia Starks, Texas A&M; Angela Tisdale, Baylor; Ashley Walker, California. Marcedes Walker, Pittsburgh; Abby Waner, Duke; Morgan Warburton, Utah; Khadijah Whittington, N.C. State; Tierre Wilson, Fresno State; Monica Wright; Virginia; Tamera Young, James Madison; Hannah Zavecz, Wyoming.