Conference USA enjoyed its finest women's basketball season ever in 2003-04. A record nine teams reached postseason play, including four that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. For the first time in league history, three schools finished the season nationally-ranked. Houston's Chandi Jones was a consensus All-American, while UH's Joe Curl was named National Coach of the Year by five different organizations.

THE 20-WIN CLUB
For the first time in C-USA history, the league had six teams with 20-plus win records. Houston (28-4), TCU (25-7), Louisville (20-10), DePaul (23-7), Memphis (21-10) and Marquette (22-10) all reached the 20-plus win plateau this season. Conference USA was one of only three leagues in the nation with six or more schools that posted 20-plus win seasons. The Big East finished with eight schools, while the Big 12 also had six teams.

THE BIG DANCE
Houston, DePaul, Marquette and TCU all advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, marking the first time in league history that C-USA teams went 4-0 in first round action.

AMONG THE TOP
With four bids, Conference USA was surpassed only by the Big East (8), SEC (7), Big 12 (7) and Big Ten (6) in the total number of NCAA teams in this year's field. The ACC also received four berths. The league has now earned a total of 34 NCAA appearances in its nine-year history.

2004 WNIT
Five Conference USA schools, more than any other league, took part in the 2004 Women's National Invitation Tournament. Charlotte's run ended with an 85-83 overtime loss to Western Michigan. Memphis suffered a 104-87 setback at Western Kentucky. Cincinnati, Louisville and USF lost in their respective first-round matchups.

HIGHEST RANKING EVER
With a No. 9 showing in the final Associated Press poll, Houston earned the highest ranking in C-USA history. The Cougars surpassed the former ranking of 10th, which they earned during the week of March 15 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. C-USA also had for the first time, three schools finish in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Houston concluded its season with a No. 16 ranking, while TCU and DePaul followed in 22nd, and 25th place.

CURL NAMED NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Houston's JOE CURL became the first coach in C-USA history to be named the Associated Press Coach of the Year. He was also named coach of the year by ESPN.com, the United States Basketball Writers Association and Basketball Times. In his sixth season at Houston, Curl led the Cougars to a school-record 28 wins and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Houston won the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles and had won 13 straight games before losing to UC-Santa Barbara in the second round. In their first NCAA appearance in 12 seasons, the Lady Cougars defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay for their first-ever NCAA Tournament win. Just five years ago, in Curl's first season at UH, the Cougars were 5-22. Curl is the only coach in University of Houston history besides Guy V. Lewis to be honored as the Associated Press coach of the year. Lewis was honored twice, first in 1968 and again in 1983.

2004 ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Houston's CHANDI JONES became the first C-USA player to be named a member of the 2004 the 2004 NCAA Division I Kodak/WBCA All-America Basketball Team, as announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and Eastman Kodak Company. She also was named to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-America second team, while also claiming Associated Press second-team honors. DePaul's KHARA SMITH, SARA NORD and TCU's SANDORA IRVIN also were named as AP honorable mention All-Americans.

RECORD YEAR FOR C-USA
- During the 2003-04 season, three league schools were ranked in the polls for the first time in C-USA history,. On Jan. 11, TCU was No. 17, while DePaul was ranked 18 and Houston placed No. 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The following week, all three schools also earned top 25 rankings in the Associated Press poll. All three schools ended the 2003-04 season ranked in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

- Houston's CHANDI JONES became the first player in C-USA annals to be named Player of the Year for three consecutive years.

- With a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Cougars earned the highest seed in league history. In the 1997 NCAA Championship, Tulane was seeded fourth.

- Five league schools earned WNIT bids, tying the league's record for most teams in the tourney. Conference USA also had five teams earn berths to the 2001 WNIT (DePaul, Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis and UAB).

UAB'S NEW HIRE
AUDRA SMITH has been named head women's basketball coach at UAB. Smith replaces Jeannie Milling who was relieved of her duties as head coach March 10 after 17 seasons at UAB.

Smith, a native of Milledgeville, Ga., has been an assistant coach under head coach Debbie Ryan on the Virginia staff since 1994. She spent her first two seasons as a restricted earnings coach before being promoted to full-time assistant two years later. In 2000, she was promoted to recruiting coordinator and has helped Virginia attract four recruiting classes rated among the nation's top 20.

As a player at Virginia, she was a member of Cavalier teams that earned three consecutive trips to the NCAA Final Four (1990, 1991 and 1992). Virginia reached the championship game in 1991, falling 70-67 in overtime to Tennessee.

Virginia won six straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships from 1991-96. As a coach with the Cavaliers, Smith helped Virginia to nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (1995-2003), four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (1995-97, 2000); two NCAA Elite Eight appearances (1995-96); and three ACC regular season titles (1995-96, 2000).

HOUSTON WINS 2004 C-USA TOURNAMENT
In front of a tournament record crowd of 4,387, CHANDI JONES posted 36 points to lead the Houston Cougars to their first Conference USA Tournament title after defeating second-seeded TCU, 86-75, on March 7 at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

The Cougars become only the second school in league history to win outright the regular season crown and tournament title in one season. Memphis also claimed the conference's regular season and tourney titles during the 1997-98 season. .

Jones earned Tournament MVP honors after averaging 27 points per game during the tournament, ranking second in the C-USA Tourney record book. Also named to the All-Tournament team were Houston's SANCHO LYTTLE, Cincinnati's VALERIE KING and TCU's NATASHA LACY and SANDORA IRVIN.

RECORD BREAKING ATTENDANCE
The 2004 C-USA Tournament will go down in the record books as the most attended tourney in C-USA women's basketball history. The total attendance for the 11 games was 22,031, breaking the former mark of 10,966 set at the 2002 C-USA Tournament at the DePaul Athletic Center.

The championship game also drew a record crowd for the tournament. Attendance for the game was 4,387, surpassing the old mark of 3,069 established at the 1999 C-USA Championship game (Cincinnati vs. Tulane).

DID YOU KNOW?
This season, Conference USA produced an all-time high of 17 postseason basketball teams (6 NCAA Men, 4 NCAA Women, 2 NIT, 5 WNIT). Only the Big East with 19 (6 NCAA Men, 8 NCAA women, 4 NIT and 1 WNIT) and the Big 12 with 18 (4 NCAA Men, 7 NCAA Women, 5 NIT and 2 WNIT) produced more postseason basketball teams this past March.

COUGARS' WINNING WAYS
With a 28-4 overall mark, Houston set the C-USA record for the most overall victories in a season. Cincinnati posted a 27-5 record in 2002, while Tulane also went 27-5 during the 1999-00 and 1996-97 seasons. The Cougars were also one of only 10 schools in the nation to reach 28 or more victories: Connecticut (31-4), Tennessee (31-4), Duke (30-4), Texas (30-25), Louisiana Tech (29-3), Chattanooga (29-3), Purdue (29-4), Penn State (28-6) and Southwest Missouri State (28-4).

ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
Head coach JOE CURL and senior forward CHANDI JONES of Houston, headlined the list of Conference USA award winners. Here is a look of the C-USA postseason award winners:

First Team
Sandora Irvin, TCU F Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Chandi Jones, Houston F Sr. Bay City, Texas
Sara Nord, Louisville G Sr. Jeffersonville, Ind.
Khara Smith, DePaul F So. Hillside, Ill.
Courtney Willis, ECU F/C Sr. Fayetteville, N.C.

Second Team
Jazz Covington, Louisville F Fr. Adel, Ga.
Jessica Dickson, USF F Fr. Ocala, Fla.
Valerie King, Cincinnati G Jr. Washington
Courthouse, Ohio
Sancho Lyttle, Houston F/C Jr. Port Arthur, Texas
Charlene Smith, DePaul G/F Jr. Bellwood, Ill.

Third Team
Victoria Crawford, Memphis F Jr. Birmingham, Ala.
Jenni Dant, DePaul G Jr. Lincolnshire, Ill.
Jennifer Jackson, ECU G/F Jr. Farmville, Va.
Angie Lewis, Saint Louis F Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
Natasha Thomas, UAB F Sr. Moulton, Ala.

All-Freshman Team
Jazz Covington, Louisville F Fr. Adel, Ga.
Jessica Dickson, USF F Fr. Ocala, Fla.
Natasha Lacy, TCU G Fr. El Paso, Texas
Nalini Miller, USF F Fr. Laurinburg, N.C.
Deondra Carter, USM G/F Fr. Pearl River, La.

Coach of the Year
Joe Curl, Houston

Player of the Year
Chandi Jones, F, Houston

Freshman of the Year
Jessica Dickson, F, USF

Defensive Player of the Year
Sandora Irvin, F, TCU

Sixth Player of the Year
Victoria Crawford, F, Memphis

KING'S THREE-POINT CROWN
Cincinnati's VALERIE KING made 12-of-22 three-pointers in the C-USA Tournament to become C-USA's all-time leader in three-pointers made. She surpassed DePaul's Lenae Williams' mark of 330, and concluded her four-year career with 338 three-pointers. King also ranks fourth in Division I history.

IRVIN'S C-USA TOP BLOCKER
This season, TCU's SANDORA IRVIN became C-USA's all-time leading blocker. She surpassed the previous record of 248 held by Tulane's Janell Burse (1998-01), tallying a total of 330 in her first three years as a Horned Frog.

C-USA LEADING SCORER
Houston's CHANDI JONES closed out her collegiate career leading the league and ranked fourth nationally in scoring (22.7 ppg). This season, she tallied four 30-plus point performances, including a career-high tying 39 points against Tulane on Feb. 8.

DICKSON'S TOP FRESHMAN SCORER
USF's JESSICA DICKSON broke the league's freshman single season record for points, surpassing the former record of 440 held by Cincinnati's DEBBIE MERRILL during the 2001-02 season. Dickson scored 540 points in her first season at USF. On Feb. 2, she also set a single-game record for conference games after scoring 39 against TCU.

DISHING IT OUT
Louisville's SARA NORD finished her four-year career as the conference's and U of L's all-time leader in assists. She destroyed the previous record, posting a total of 852 assists in 118 games played.

CHARLOTTE (17-14, 8-6 C-USA)
Charlotte wrapped up its season, rallying from a 15-point deficit before falling in overtime, 85-83, at Western Michigan in the second round of the WNIT. It was the second trip to the postseason for the Niners. PEACHES HARRIS ended her career with 1,079 points, ranking 11th on the school's career list. LESLIE COOK established a school record for three-pointers this past season. She finished the season with 71, destroying the previous school record of 58 set by Harris last season. The 49ers concluded the 2003-04 season with a 17-14, marking their third consecutive winning season under head coach KATIE MEIER. In her three years at Charlotte, Meier has amassed a record of 54-36.

CINCINNATI (15-16, 5-9 C-USA)
VALERIE KING scored 21 of her 25 points after halftime, but it was not enough to keep it from being her final game as a Bearcat. Cincinnati fell to Western Kentucky, 80-78, in overtime of the first round of the WNIT to conclude the 2003-04 season with a 15-16 overall record. King finished second in UC history and fourth in Conference USA with 2,156 all-time points. She also, along with UC's only other senior, BRITTANI YOUNG tied for first in career games played with 126.

DE PAUL (23-7, 10-4 C-USA)
The Blue Demons finished the 2003-04 campaign with a 23-7 record - the second-highest win total in school history. DePaul earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid and knocked off George Washington in the first round before falling to top-seeded Tennessee. Earlier in the season, the club earned the program's highest ranking in school history with a No. 11 spot in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll and a No. 12 ranking in the AP top 25. DePaul won 18 of its first 19 games to start the season, the only defeat a 96-89 overtime loss at home to Tennessee on December 17. KHARA SMITH was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press. She led the Blue Demons this season with 20.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 21 double-doubles.

EAST CAROLINA (14-14, 5-9 C-USA)
The Pirates recorded 14 wins, the most in three years, and made its second consecutive appearance at the Conference USA Tournament under head coach SHARON BALDWIN-TENER. In two years under Baldwin-Tener, ECU holds a 26-30 overall record. Senior COURTNEY WILLIS became the first Pirate in school history to earn C-USA first-team All-Conference honors. On the season, she led East Carolina with 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She recorded 14 double-doubles on the season, and became the 18th Pirate to record 1,000 points for her career. She concluded her career ranked fifth all-time on ECU's scoring list with 1,374 points.

HOUSTON (28-3, 13-1 C-USA)
Houston concluded one of the most successful seasons in school history with a 28-4 overall record. The Cougars were the fourth Conference USA school to win the regular-season and tournament titles in the same season and had won 13 straight games before losing at UC-Santa Barbara in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In their first appearance in 12 seasons, the Cougars defeated UW-Green Bay in the first round for the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament win. The Cougars also earned the highest ranking in C-USA history with a No. 9 spot in the final Associated Press poll. Following the conclusion of the season, senior forward CHANDI JONES appeared on every All-American team, while head coach JOE CURL has been honored by five different organizations as National Coach of the Year.

LOUISVILLE (20-10, 11-3 C-USA)
The Cardinals' season ended with a 63-61 loss to Western Michigan in the opening round of the WNIT. SARA NORD closed out her collegiate career as the all-time league leader in assists with 852 in 118 games played. She also holds C-USA's single-season record, dishing out 235 during the 2001-02 season. Nord was a four time first team All-Conference USA selection. Nord was also named an Associated Press and Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-American. The Cardinals conclude the 2003-04 year with a 20-10 record under first-year head coach TOM COLLEN. It marks U of L's first 20-plus win season since the 1998-99 season.

MARQUETTE (22-9, 9-5 C-USA)
Marquette defeated Old Dominion, 67-64, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but fell to Duke in the second round. The Golden Eagles' first round win was a first since the 1997 NCAA Tournament, when MU defeated Clemson. Marquette finished the 2003-04 season with its seventh 20-plus win season in school history and fifth under head coach TERRI MITCHELL. With a 74-70 victory over DePaul in the C-USA Tournament on March 5, Mitchell claimed her 150th victory at the Golden Eagle helm. Mitchell has compiled a 151-86 record in her eight seasons at MU.

MEMPHIS (21-10, 9-5 C-USA)
Memphis suffered a 104-87 loss to Western Kentucky in the second round of the WNIT. Senior PRINCESS SWILLEY etched her name in the school record books during that game when she closed her career with 1,000 points. She became the second Tiger in two years to join the U of M's 1,000 point club. VICTORIA CRAWFORD led the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game. She also tallied two 30-plus point performances this season, including a career-high 38 points against Western Kentucky. The Tigers were picked by Conference USA coaches to finish ninth in C-USA during the 2003-04 season. With a 21-10 record, Memphis finished tied with Marquette for fifth place in the conference.

SAINT LOUIS (8-19, 2-12 C-USA)
The Billikens end their season with an 8-19 overall record and 2-12 conference mark. Senior ANGIE LEWIS was named to the All-Conference third team. She finished the 2003-04 season with 485 points, the second-highest single-season total in school history, and averaged 18 points and 7.0 rebounds this year. She also broke the record for field goals made in a season with 194. Lewis scored 32 points against East Carolina, the second-highest single-game total in school history and was the first player at SLU to score at least 30 points in a game three times in one season. Lewis tallied 1,300 points in her career, the sixth-best total in school history, and her 659 rebounds ranks sixth on the rebounding chart.

USF (14-15, 7-7 C-USA)
USF, playing in its first postseason game since the 1978-79 season, fell to the Richmond Spiders, 63-55, in the opening round of the WNIT. With the loss, the Bulls finished the 2003-04 season at 14-15 overall. JESSICA DICKSON was named C-USA Freshman of the Year after breaking the C-USA freshmen scoring record with 540 points this season. The Bulls posted one of the best turnarounds, finishing the 2003-04 season with a 14-15 season. It marked seven more wins from their 2002-03 record of 7-20.

SOUTHERN MISS (14-13, 2-12 C-USA)
The Golden Eagles finished with a 14-13 record and 2-12 in league play. Freshmen DEONDRA CARTER and MICHELLE POINDEXTER were Southern Miss' top scorers. Carter led the squad with 12.9 points per game, while Poindexter finished with 9.8 ppg. Carter was named to the All-Freshmen team, becoming the first Eagle to be named to that team since the 1996-97 season. She played in all 26 games and started 23 contests, averaging 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds against C-USA teams.

TCU (25-6, 11-3 C-USA)
TCU reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row, before falling to Georgia, 85-71. The Frogs posted a 25-7 record this season, tying the school record for wins. TCU went 11-3 in conference play and finished second in the regular season standings. SANDORA IRVIN established new single-season school records this year for points (504), rebounds (366), and field goals made (195). Her 16.8 points per game was the third-highest in TCU history and her 12.2 rebounds per game was the best ever. Irvin also became the all-time leading rebounder in TCU men's or women's basketball history, surpassing Reggie Smith and his 966 caroms set over 1988-1992. The women's record was 778 by Janice Dziuk (1986-1990) before Irvin broke it against Cincinnati earlier this year. Irvin also became the first Frog in school history to earn postseason All-America praise after being named an honorable mention All-American by AP.

TULANE (10-18, 3-11 C-USA)
Tulane suffered a 61-44 loss to Marquette in the first round of the C-USA Tournament to conclude its season with a 10-18 overall mark. This season, the Green Wave were paced in points (13.1) and rebounds (8.1) by LAKETHIA HAMPTON. The Green Wave closed out the 2003-04 season at the C-USA Tourney, ending a nine-year run of trips to the NCAA Championship.

UAB (9-19, 3-11 C-USA)
UAB concluded the 2003-04 season with a first round loss to Memphis, 64-54, at the C-USA Tournament. Senior NATASHA THOMAS added another milestone to her outstanding career, as she tallied the 1,000th rebound of her collegiate run. Thomas, who scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds Thursday, joined UAB greats, Wanda Hightower and Deanna Jackson as only the third Blazer to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career. AUDRA SMITH was named the Blazers' new head coach on April 7. She comes to UAB after 10-year stint at Virginia.
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