All-Southland Conference Women's Basketball Honors Announced
3/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2001
PLANO, Texas - Shawnta Vanzant, a senior guard from Lamar University, has been named the Southland Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year in a vote of the league's head coaches and media representatives.
Vanzant, who hails from Delcity, Okla., was also tapped Newcomer of the Year.?She led the Southland in scoring nearly the entire season, finishing the regular schedule with an average of 19.2 points per game.?She was named Southland Player of the Week four times and set a new league single-season record for most three-point field goals made with 89.?In last week?s NCAA rankings, Vanzant was 41st in scoring and fourth in three-pointers made per game with an average of 3.42. ? Vanzant helped the Lady Cardinals finish fifth in the league and advance to the Conference tournament for the first time since rejoining the Southland in 1998-99.?The 5-5 guard was a first team NJCAA and Kodak All-American at Seminole (Okla.) Junior College before playing at Penn State for a year.?She transferred to Lamar in 1999, sat out a season per NCAA transfer rules, and has made a considerable impact in the Southland during her final year of eligibility. ? Joining Vanzant on the All-Southland Conference first team is Stephen F. Austin's Nathesia Wright, a sophomore guard who was the 1999-2000 Southland Freshman of the Year.?Wright helped the Ladyjacks to their 12th regular-season title in 14 years by averaging 11.9 points, a .387 field goal percentage and a .780 free-throw percentage. ? The University of Louisiana at Monroe, the second seed in the CenturyTel Southland Conference Classic, is represented on the first team by senior post Terri Butler, who was twice named Player of the Week.?She was fourth in the league in scoring (15.9 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.0 rpg). ? Kia Converse of third-seed Northwestern State University has earned her second consecutive All-Conference first team selection.?Converse averaged 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.37 three-pointers and 2.52 steals per game. ? Sam Houston State University's Brenda Abakwue led the Southland in rebounding with 11.0 per game and was recognized with her first All-Conference honor.?She was consistently ranked in the nation in rebounding, most recently placing eighth. ? Other top awards went to Sheena Johnson of the University of Texas at Arlington as Freshman of the Year and Rae Rippetoe-Blair of the University of Texas at San Antonio as Coach of the Year. ? Johnson, a 6-0 center from Houston, Texas, was second in the Southland in rebounding with an average of 10.8 per game.?She led the Conference in offensive boards with a total of 131.?Most recently ranked 13th in the nation, Johnson finished the regular season averaging a double-double (10.7 ppg-10.8 rpg), the only UTA player to do so since 1979-80. ? In her first year at UTSA, Rippetoe-Blair turned around a program that finished 7-20, 3-15 and 10th in the league under an interim head coach last year.?The Roadrunners (15-12, 13-7, +.297 overall winning percentage increase) return to the CenturyTel Classic after a two-year absence as the fourth seed.?UTSA is ranked second in the country in scoring defense, allowing only 54.3 ppg. ? The Southland head coaches and members of the media who cover Southland teams voted on the all-conference teams, ranking the top 15 players regardless of position. ? ? 2001 All-Southland Conference Women's Basketball Teams FIRST TEAM Name Pos Ht Yr University Hometown/Previous School Shawnta Vanzant G 5-5 Sr Lamar Delcity, Okla./Penn State Nathesia Wright G 5-10 So Stephen F. Austin Arlington, Texas/Bowie HS Terri Butler P 6-1 Sr Louisiana-Monroe San Antonio, Texas/Sam Houston HS Kia Converse G 5-8 Sr Northwestern State Napoleanville, La./Assumption HS Brenda Abakwue P 6-0 Sr Sam Houston State Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS
SECOND TEAM Lashinda Winters G 5-3 Jr Stephen F. Austin Houston, Texas/Alief Elsik HS Angela Davidson F 6-0 So Northwestern State Leesville, La./Mississippi Renda Churman P 6-2 Sr Texas-San Antonio Godley, Texas/Godley HS Stacey Turner F/C 6-0 Sr Southeastern Louisiana Greenwood, S.C./Okaloosa-Walton CC Julie Rampley F 5-11 Jr Texas-San Antonio Arlington, Texas/Midland JC
THIRD TEAM Kendall Arant G 5-9 Jr Southwest Texas Lawton, Okla./MacArthur HS Ilona Hollosy F 5-10 Sr Louisiana-Monroe Szombathely, Hungary/Nagy Lajos Katie Schreiter G 5-7 Sr Nicholls State Lockport, La./Central Lafourche HS Stacy Allen G 5-6 So Sam Houston State Webster, Texas/Clearbrook HS Renee Wharekura C 6-2 Sr Texas-Arlington Huntly, New Zealand/Casper CC
Honorable Mention - Danyelle Grimes, Lamar, Mykayla Alewine, Louisiana-Monroe, Kelly Greig, McNeese State, Dana Kelley, Nicholls State, Jamila Newman, Northwestern State, Deirdre Allen, Southeastern Louisiana, Ann Webster, Southeastern Louisiana, Sheena Johnson, Texas-Arlington, Amber Prose, Texas-San Antonio. ? Player of the Year - Shawnta Vanzant, senior, guard, Lamar
Newcomer of the Year - Shawnta Vanzant, senior, guard, Lamar
Freshman of the Year - Sheena Johnson, post, Texas-Arlington
Coach of the Year - Rae Rippetoe-Blair, Texas-San Antonio ?
- SLC -
