March 16, 2005
ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) announced today its 2004-05 women's postseason honors. Baylor's Sophia Young was one of 10 players on the elite list and is the first Baylor player to be named to the team. LSU's Seimone Augustus and Pokey Chatman are the association's National Player and Coach of the Year.
Young, a 6-1 forward, leads the sixth-ranked Baylor squad in both scoring and rebounding with 17.4 points and 9.4 rebounds a game this season and is among the Big 12 Conference leaders in those areas. In addition, she ranks high among Big 12 players in steals and field goal percentage. Young helped lead the 2005 Lady Bears to the program's first-ever conference championship and league tournament title. She was recently named Big 12 Conference Tournament MVP and is a Kodak All-Region selection. The two-time first-team All-Big 12 performer is a finalist for the Wooden Award, Wade Trophy and Naismith Trophy.
Chatman, a former All-America player and longtime assistant at LSU, has led the Tigers to a 28-1 mark and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. LSU's lone loss is a two-point decision in the SEC title game to Tennessee. Chatman, who took over the program when the legendary Sue Gunter became ill in the middle of last season, led LSU to its first Final Four appearance last season and the nation's top ranking for most of this year.
Augustus, the 2003 USBWA Freshman of the Year, is averaging 20.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the SEC regular-season champs. The Baton Rouge, La., native was named the SEC's Player of the Year, becoming the first LSU player to receive the honor.
Two players were chosen as the USBWA's Freshman of the Year: Stanford's Candice Wiggins and Georgia's Tasha Humphrey. Wiggins was the Pac-10 Player of the Year and, with her 17.3 points per game, leads the top-ranked Cardinal into the NCAA tournament. Humphrey is averaging 19.1 points and 8.2 rebounds heading into NCAA play. Following is the complete list of 2004-05 USBWA women's honors:
2005 USBWA WOMEN'S ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Player, School Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown
Seimone Augustus, LSU G 6-1 Jr. Baton Rouge, La.
Monique Currie, Duke G/F 6-0 Jr. Washington, D.C.
Jessica Davenport, Ohio St. C 6-4 So. Columbus, Ohio
Sandora Irvin, TCU F 6-3 Sr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Tiffany Jackson, Texas F 6-3 So. Dallas, Texas
Temeka Johnson, LSU G 5-3 Sr. New Orleans, La.
Janel McCarville, Minnesota C 6-2 Sr. Stevens Point, Wis.
Kendra Wecker, Kansas St. F 5-11 Sr. Marysville, Kan.
Tanisha Wright, Penn St. F 5-11 Sr. West Mifflin, Pa.
Sophia Young, Baylor F 6-1 Jr. St. Vincent, West Indies
Freshman of the Year
Tasha Humphrey, Georgia F 6-3 Fr. Gainesville, Ga.
Candice Wiggins, Stanford F 5-11 Fr. La Jolla, Calif.
Player of the Year: Seimone Augustus, LSU
Coach of the Year: Pokey Chatman, LSU
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association, formed in 1956, has named a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season. The association has also named a national player of the year since 1987-88 and a national coach of the year since 1989-90. In 2002-03, the USBWA initiated an award for the nation's top freshman.
For more information about the USBWA and its annual awards, contact Executive Director Joe Mitch in the Missouri Valley Conference office at 314-421-0339.
