April 16, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Sun Devil women's basketball team handed out individual awards at ASU's annual season-end banquet last night at the Tempe Mission Palms.
The Sun Devil players, coaches and fans celebrated the 2003-04 season in which the Sun Devils turned in a 17-12 record and became the first Sun Devil team in 20 years to turn in four consecutive winning season.
Arizona State also earned their school-record fifth straight postseason bid this year, advancing to the 2004 Women's National Invitation Tournament. That invitation marked the first time in school history that a Sun Devil squad has advanced to postseason play in five consecutive years. No ASU team has ever earned postseason invitations in more than three straight seasons.
Three Sun Devils earned All-Pac-10 Conference honors, including first-team All-Pac-10 selection Kylan Loney. Sophomore Kristen Kovesdy was named an honorable-mention All-Pac-10 selection this year, while freshman Emily Westerberg was selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman first team, marking the seventh consecutive year that ASU has had a player garner mention on the all-rookie team.
Arizona State also had a school-record six Sun Devils named to the 2004 Pac-10 All-Academic teams. The most the team had ever had in the past was five in 2000. Senior Jen Albert was named to the All-Academic First Team for the third consecutive year to become the first Sun Devil in school history to earn first-team all-academic honors three times in her career. It also marks the fourth straight year that ASU has had at least one first-team all-academic honoree.
Junior Carrie Buckner was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic second team, her second career all-academic honor. ASU also had four players named to the honorable-mention squad including juniors Betsy Boardman, Kylan Loney and Lauren Stagg and sophomore Amy Denson. It marks the second all-academic honor for both Boardman and Loney, while Stagg and Denson earned all-academic honors for the first time in their careers.
In addition, ASU honored its lone senior, forward Jen Albert who played in 100 career games during her time in Tempe. Albert became the first Sun Devil to be selected to the Pac-10 All-Academic First Team in three seasons. In her four years in Tempe, she helped ASU to a share of the 2001 Pac-10 title, the 2002 Pac-10 Tournament title and four straight postseason appearances, including NCAA Tournament invitations in 2001 and 2002. Albert will graduate this spring with a degree in elementary education and has been accepted to law school.
The Sun Devils also said goodbye to junior Alexis Tate, a talented and athletic forward who saw her ASU career cut short due to injuries. She played in 26 career games and helped ASU to the 2002 Pac-10 Tournament Title and the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. A Maroon & Gold Scholar-Athlete, Tate will graduate in the spring with a degree in elementary education and has already accepted a teaching job for the fall.
Arizona State will return all five starters and a total of 11 letterwinners next season in addition to regaining the services of guard Jill Noe, a 2003 Pac-10 All-Freshman selection who missed all season with an ACL tear.
Here is a list of awards earned by the Sun Devils this year:
Jen Albert Pac-10 All-Academic First Team (third straight year) Team Co-Captain Award (second year) Team Community Involvement AwardBetsy Boardman Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention Academic All-America All-District VIII Second Team Team Co-Captain Award (second year) Team Scoring Leader Award Wells Fargo Holiday Classic Tournament MVP
Carrie Buckner Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team (second year) Team Co-Captain Award Team Steals Leader Award Team Faith Factor Award
Amy Denson Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention Team Coaches Award
Aubree Johnson Team Academic Award
Kristen Kovesdy All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention
Kylan Loney All-Pac-10 First Team Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention Team Assists Leader Award (second year) Wells Fargo Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team
YoVanna Rosenthal Wells Fargo Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team
Lauren Stagg Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention
Jenny Thigpin Team Most Improved Award
Emily Westerberg Pac-10 All-Freshman First Team