March 4, 2005

DALLAS - Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson was chosen Coach of the Year and Kansas State's Kendra Wecker was named Player of the Year, highlighting the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball 2004-05 All-Conference Team released Friday.

Jelena Spiric (Nebraska) was the pick for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year while Morenike Atunrase (Texas A&M) captured Freshman of the Year honors. The team was voted on by the league's head coaches with coaches not allowed to vote for their own players.

Mulkey-Robertson earned her first Big 12 Coach of the Year accolade after leading Baylor to its first women's basketball conference championship in school history. The Lady Bears won the Big 12 title with a 14-2 league mark and are 24-3 overall, with a current 11-game win streak and Top 10 national ranking. Mulkey-Robertson has led Baylor to 20+ wins in each of her five seasons as head coach. The team earned the No. 1 seed in next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament.

Wecker, a 5-11 senior forward, is the only Big 12 player averaging a double-double in overall and conference games. She numbers 21.0 ppg and 10.1 rpg in all games and registered 20.8 ppg and 10.6 rpg in league play. This season she became just the second women's basketball player in Big 12 history and first in Kansas State history to amass over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Wecker needs just 13 points to become the Big 12 and KSU all-time leading scorer, surpassing former teammate and two-time Big 12 Player of the Year (2003 and 2004) Nicole Ohlde's 2,241 career points from 2001-04.

Spiric, a 6-1 junior forward, started in 19 and played in all 28 games for Nebraska in her first season after transferring from Colby Community College. She is fourth on the team in scoring with 7.5 ppg and second in steals with 45 on the season. She won consecutive Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors on Jan. 10 and 17.

Atunrase, a 5-10 freshman forward, is the only player to rank in the top four among Big 12 freshmen in scoring (2 - 10.5 ppg), rebounding (4 - 5.2 rpg), steals (1 - 1.9 spg), and blocks (1 - 1.8 bpg). She is the Aggies' leading scorer and is on pace to become just the second freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring average. She is a three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week selection.

Baylor's Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young each were named first-team All-Big 12 for the second straight season.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball 2004-05 All-Conference Team Coach of the Year: Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Baylor
Player of the Year: Kendra Wecker, Kansas State
Newcomer of the Year: Jelena Spiric, Nebraska (F, 6-1, Jr, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro)
Freshman of the Year: Morenike Atunrase, Texas A&M (F, 5-10, Fr, Shreveport, La.)

First Team
Player (School)               Pos  Ht   Cl  Hometown
Kendra Wecker (Kansas State)  F    5-11 Sr  Marysville, Kan.
Sophia Young (Baylor)         F    6-1  Jr  St. Vincent, West Indies
Tiffany Jackson (Texas)       F    6-3  So  Dallas, Texas
Dionnah Jackson (Oklahoma)    G    5-9  Sr  St. Louis, Mo.
Anne O'Neal (Iowa State)      G    5-11 Sr  Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Steffanie Blackmon (Baylor)   P    6-2  Sr  Dallas, Texas
Erin Grant (Texas Tech)       G    5-8  Jr  Arlington, Texas
Jamie Carey (Texas)           G    5-6  Sr  Thornton, Colo.
Cisti Greenwalt (Texas Tech)  C    6-5  Sr  Clovis, N.M.
Kiera Hardy (Nebraska)        G    5-6  So  Kansas City, Mo.
Second Team
Leah Rush (Oklahoma)          F    6-1  So  Amarillo, Texas
Katie Robinette (Iowa State)  F    6-2  Sr  South Sioux City, Neb.
Laurie Koehn (Kansas State)   G    5-8  Sr  Hesston, Kan.
Chesley Dabbs (Texas Tech)    G    6-0  Jr  Plano, Texas
Heather Schreiber (Texas)     F    6-2  Sr  Windthorst, Texas
Honorable Mention (alphabetical by school):

Veronica Johns-Richardson (Colorado), Crystal Kemp and Erica Hallman (Kansas), Megan Mahoney (Kansas State), Tiffany Brooks and Christelle N'Garsanet (Missouri), Jina Johansen (Nebraska), Nina Stone (Oklahoma State), Morenike Atunrase (Texas A&M), Alesha Robertson and LaToya Davis (Texas Tech)