March 6, 2004
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - In a vote of the 10 Conference coaches, STANFORD senior forward Nicole Powell has been named the 2003-04 Pacific-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Year, UCLA's Noelle Quinn has been selected as Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and Caren Horstmeyer of CALIFORNIA has been named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced Thursday.
Arizona State has three players named on the all-league teams this year. Junior point guard Kylan Loney earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors, becoming ASU's first first-team all-league selection since two-time honoree Amanda Levens was selected to the All-Pac-10 squad in 2002. It is the first all-league honor for Loney who was named to the honorable-mention Pac-10 All-Freshman team in 2002.
Sophomore Kristen Kovesdy has been named an honorable-mention All-Pac-10 selection after earning honorable-mention Pac-10 All-Freshman accolades last year.
Freshman Emily Westerberg has been selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman first team, marking the seventh consecutive year that ASU has had at least one player garner mention on the all-rookie first- or honorable-mention team. Last season, ASU had three players earn Pac-10 All-Freshman honors with Jill Noe and Amy Denson earning first-team accolades and Kovesdy being named to the honorable-mention squad.
In other awards news, junior Betsy Boardman has been named to the 2004 Academic All-America District VIII second team. It is the first academic all-district honor for Boardman who was a 2002 second-team Pac-10 All-Academic honoree. Boardman is a Maroon and Gold Scholar-Athlete who carries a 3.26 GPA in communication.
2004 ALL-PAC-10 TEAM Name School Pos Yr Ht Hometown Nihan Anaz CAL G Sr 5-9 Istanbul, Turkey Nikki Blue* UCLA G So 5-8 Bakersfield, Calif. Ebony Hoffman** USC F/C Sr 6-2 Harbor City, Calif. Andrea Lalum WASH C Sr 6-4 Bozeman, Mont. Kylan Loney ASU G Jr 5-7 Ames, Iowa Giuliana Mendiola** WASH G Sr 5-11 Lake Forest, Calif. Shawntinice Polk* ARIZ C So 6-5 Hanford, Calif. Nicole Powell*** STAN G Sr 6-2 Phoenix, Ariz. Noelle Quinn UCLA G Fr 6-0 Los Angeles, Calif. Dee-Dee Wheeler* ARIZ G Jr. 5-6 Chicago, Ill. *two-time All-Pac-10 honoree; ** three-time All-Pac-10 honoree; ***four-time All-Pac-10 honoree
HONORABLE MENTION (Received votes): Andrea Bills (ORE, Jr., C), Susan Borchardt (STAN, Jr., G), Brina Chaney (OSU, Sr., C), Leilani Estavan (OSU, Sr., G), Shannon Howell (OSU, Jr., G), Kristen Kovesdy (ASU, So., F), Bianca McCall (WSU, Sr., F), Kelley Suminski (STAN, Jr., G), Lisa Willis (UCLA, So., G/F).
PAC-10 ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM Name School Pos Ht Hometown Eleanor Haring ORE F 6-1 Mullaloo, West Australia Cameo Hicks WASH G 5-10 Tracy, Calif. Kristen Newlin STAN F/C 6-5 Riverton, Wyo. Noelle Quinn UCLA G/F 6-0 Los Angeles, Calif. Emily Westerberg ASU F 6-0 Greenacres, Wash.
HONORABLE MENTION (Received Votes): Jill Bell (WASH, F), Kate Benz (WSU, F), Jamie Funn (USC, F), Jamie Hagiya (USC, G), Shannon Hobson (ARIZ, F/C), Eshaya Murphy (USC, F).
PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
POWELL was instrumental in leading Stanford to its fourth straight Pac-10 Championship and helping the Cardinal finish 14-4 in the Conference, 21-6 overall. Powell ended the regular season ranked first in the league in rebounding (11.4 rpg) and free-throw percentage (86.5 percent), second in scoring (20.1 ppg), third in three-point field goal percentage (1.83 avg), sixth in assists (3.54 apg), eighth in steals (1.92 spg) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (36.7 percent). She was one of only two players in the Conference to finish the season averaging a double-double and the only to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. Powell was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2001-02, the fifth player ever to receive the honor multiple times. She has been named to the All-Conference Team all four of the years she played for the Cardinal, only the fourth player ever to do so in the history of the Pac-10 and the first since UCLA's Maylana Martin in 1997-2000. Powell was named Pac-10 Player of the Week seven times in her career, becoming one of just eight players ever to receive the honor at least seven times.
PAC-10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
QUINN becomes the fourth player in UCLA history to be named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and the first since Maylana Martin received the honor in 1996-97. Quinn finished the regular season ranked fourth in the Pac-10 in steals (2.25 spg), fifth in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) and ninth in assists (3.00 apg). She was the sole Pac-10 player to record a triple-double this season, a feat that came in a 97-69 win over California on Feb. 19, when she notched 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the first triple-double for a Bruin since 1996. From Jan. 31 through Feb. 14, Quinn put together a string of five straight games scoring 20 or more points, a UCLA freshman record and the first such streak for a Bruin since 1992-93. Over the course of the year, Quinn recorded six double-doubles, including five in the last seven games, garnering Pac-10 Player of the Week accolades back-to-back weeks, on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23.
PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR
HORSTMEYER in her fourth year at the helm of the Golden Bears, led the team to a 11-16 overall record, 4-14 in the Conference. The year opened strong as Californa (11-16 overall, 4-14 Pac-10) jumped out to an 8-2 start, its best start since 1992-93. In that stretch, Cal won the Oakland Tribune Classic for the first time since 1998 and finished its non-Conference slate with a 6-0 home record, the Bears' first unbeaten non-conference home slate since 1998-99. Cal received votes in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches' Poll for five straight weeks, from Dec. 1 through Dec. 29, and received a vote in the AP poll on Dec. 29. However, tragedy struck the Golden Bear basketball family on Jan. 19, as junior forward Alisa Lewis passed away suddenly from bacterial meningitis. Horstmeyer not only had the job of X's and O's, but also that of leading a team back from the sadness and emotional void left by Lewis' death. Horstmeyer did just that, as her team found the strength and courage to continue Pac-10 competition, just four days after Lewis' death. Cal enters the Pac-10 Tournament having won two of its last three games and has surpassed its win total from last season (10-19 overall). The Bears are averaging 44.7 rebounds over their last three games, well above their season average of 33.7 boads per game. Horstmeyer posts a 40-71 overall record in her fourth season at Cal, a career mark of 260-195 and is 19-52 in Pac-10 play. This is her first Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor. She was named the 1991 and 1993 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, during her stint as head coach at Santa Clara University.
ALL-PAC-10 TEAM
ANAZ is a first-time All-Pac-10 selection. This season the senior leads the Bears in scoring and is 10th in the league with 14.1 points per game. She also led Cal in scoring in 18 different games over the course of the regular season.
BLUE earns her second All-Pac-10 selection. She is averaging 3.07 steals per game, second most in the Conference and one of just two players averaging three or more thefts per contest. She also is third in assists (4.96 apg) and eighth in scoring (14.5 ppg).
HOFFMAN is a three-time All-Conference honoree. This season she racked up a team-high nine double-doubles, and through the regular season, averaged 15.0 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, seventh and third, respectively, in the Pac-10.
LALUM earns All-Pac-10 honors for the first time of her career and is the Huskies' leading shot blocker, averaging 1.22 blocks per game. She also ranks sixth in the league in scoring, with 15.8 points per game.
LONEY is a first-time All-Conference selection. She leads all Sun Devils and ranks third in the league in free throw percentage, sinking 80.5 percent from the stripe. Her 40.0 percent shooting from behind the three-point line is tied for fifth-best in the league.
MENDIOLA is a three-time All-Conference selection and leads the league in scoring with 20.7 points per game. The 2003 Pac-10 Player of the Year has posted 149 assists this season, second most in the league. Her career total of 590 assists is the sixth-best mark in Pac-10 history.
POLK earns her second All-Pac-10 honor as a sophomore. This season she leads the league in blocks per game (2.59 bpg) and is second in rebounding, averaging 10.2 boards per game. She is one of only two players in the league this season averaging a double-double (16.4 ppg), and is last year's returning Freshman of the Year.
POWELL is a four-time All-Conference selection and was this season's Pac-10 Player of the Year. She is averaging a double-double this season with 20.1 points per game and a league best 11.4 rebounds per game. She leads the league with 18 double-doubles over the season.
QUINN is only the seventh freshman ever to receive First Team All-Pac-10 honors. This year's Pac-10 Freshman of the Year ranks fourth in the league with 2.25 steals per game and is fifth in the Pac-10 in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg).
WHEELER earns All-Conference honors for the second time in her career. She is averaging 17.7 points per game, 2.86 steals per game and 4.72 assists per game, all team highs. She also has 10 20-point games on the season.
PAC-10 ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
HARING becomes the 10th Duck ever to earn All-Freshman honors. Haring is Oregon's second-leading scorer (10.4 ppg) and rebounder (4.9 rpg) in Pac-10 games. She is the second-leading scorer among all Conference freshmen and is the third straight Pac-10 All-Freshman selection for Oregon.
HICKS is the fourth Husky in five years to make the All-Freshman Pac-10 team, 12th overall. She has started 24 games this season and is averaging 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. She is also shooting 44.9 percent from the floor.
NEWLIN led the Cardinal in blocked shots with 45 over the season (1.96 bpg), third-best in the Pac-10. She tied for most blocked shots in a game this year with eight at Washington State on Jan. 2. She also averaged 5.5 rebounds per game, second most for a Stanford player.
QUINN is the 11th Bruin ever to earn All-Freshman honors and is this season's Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. She ranks fourth in the league with 2.25 steals per game and is fifth in the Pac-10 in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg).
WESTERBERG is seventh Arizona State player to receive first-team All-Freshman honors. On the season she is averaging 6.3 points in only 18.2 minutes per game. She is also shooting 43.4 percent from three-point range, second-best for the Sun Devils.