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Five Huskies Honored at 2006 BIG EAST Women’s
Basketball Banquet
Montgomery named Freshman of the Year, Thomas named
Most Improved
 HARTFORD, Conn.
(March 3, 2006) -
Five University of Connecticut women’s basketball players
received postseason honors at the 2006 BIG EAST Championship Banquet
on Friday night at the Hartford Hilton.
Freshman Renee Montgomery (St. Albans, W. Va.) was recognized
as the conference’s Freshman of the Year, while sophomore Mel
Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio) was named as the league’s Most Improved
Player.
Thomas is the first UConn player to ever to be honored as the BIG EAST
Most Improved Player, while Montgomery is the first Husky to earn
Freshman of the Year status since Tamika Williams in 1999, and the
eighth all-time.
Senior Ann Strother (Castle Rock, Colo.) was named to the
All-BIG EAST First Team, while Barbara Turner (Cleveland, Ohio)
was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Strother joins former UConn
standout Svetlana Abrosimova as one of only two UConn players to be
named to one of the All-BIG EAST squads in each of their four seasons.
Thomas and Charde Houston (San Diego, Calif.) earned All-BIG
EAST honorable mention, while Montgomery earned BIG EAST All-Freshman
Team honors.
Montgomery averaged 12.0 points per game in league play. She is tied
for a team-best 53 steals and ranked first with 101 assists.
Montgomery held a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio in league play. The
guard was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week twice in her rookie
season.
Montgomery currently ranks eighth among UConn’s all-time freshmen
leaders in assists and steals entering the postseason.
Earning the honor for the first time in Connecticut history, Thomas
takes the Most Improved Player Award in just her sophomore season. The
Cincinnati, Ohio, native ranks eighth nationally in
3-point field goal percentage (45.4 percent) while connecting on 69
treys. The guard has recorded seven double-figure scoring games, while
averaging 12.4 points per game. A starter this season,
Thomas came off the bench as a freshman to score 5.9 points per game
and held a 35.3 percentage from 3-point range.
Strother became only the second player in UConn history to record
1,600-plus points, 500-plus rebounds, 300-plus assists, 100-plus
blocks and 100-plus steals in a career, along with former UConn
two-time National Player of the Year Diana Taurasi.
The sharp-shooting senior is currently seven minutes shy of becoming Connecticut’s
all-time leader in minutes played and has appeared in all 136 games,
while making 135 starts.
The Huskies open the 2006 BIG EAST Championship on Sunday, March 5
when they face either South Florida or Notre Dame in the quarterfinals
beginning at 6:00 p.m. (ET) at the Hartford Civic Center.
2005-06 BIG EAST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON AWARD
WINNERS
BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers (Sr., G,
Chicago, Ill.)
BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Renee Montgomery, Connecticut (Fr., G,
St. Albans, W.Va.)
BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR - Kim Barnes Arico, St. John's (Fourth
season, SJU; 10th season, overall)
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Essence Carson, Rutgers (So.,
G, Paterson, N.J.)
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Mel Thomas, Connecticut (So., G, Cincinnati,
Ohio)
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Carolyn Kieger, Marquette (Sr., G, Roseville,
Minn.)
BIG EAST/AEROPOSTALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE - Megan Duffy, Notre Dame (Sr.,
G, Dayton, Ohio)
ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
| |
School |
Cl. |
|
Hometown/High School |
| Matee Aavon |
Rutgers |
So. |
G |
Newark, N.J. Malcolm X Shabazz |
| Angela Clark |
St. John's |
Jr. |
F |
Copiague, N.Y. Copiague |
| Jazz Covington |
Louisville |
Jr. |
C |
Adel, Ga. Cook |
| *Jessica Dickson |
USF |
Jr. |
F |
Ocala, Fla. Vanguard |
| *Megan Duffy |
Notre Dame |
Sr. |
G |
Dayton, Ohio Chaminade-Julienne |
| Cappie Pondexter |
Rutgers |
Sr. |
G |
Chicago, Ill. John Marshall |
| *Khara Smith |
DePaul |
Sr. |
F |
Hillside, Ill. Proviso West |
| Ann Strother |
Connecticut |
Sr. |
F |
Castle Rock, Colo. Highlands Ranch |
| Liad Suez-Karni |
Villanova |
Sr. |
F |
Even-Yehuda, Israel Ostrovsky |
| Marcedes Walker |
Pittsburgh |
So. |
C |
Philadelphia, Pa. University City |
| Kia Wright |
St. John's |
Jr. |
G |
Copiague, N.Y. Copiague |
ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM#
| |
| Meg Bulger |
West Virginia |
Jr. |
G |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
Oakland Catholic |
| |
| Essence Carson |
Rutgers |
So. |
G |
Paterson, N.J. |
Rosa Parks (East Side) |
| |
| Treasure Humphries |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
G |
Canton, Ohio |
Canton-McKinley |
| |
| Carolyn Kieger |
Marquette |
Sr. |
G |
Roseville, Minn. |
Roseville |
| |
| Kieraah Marlow |
Georgetown |
So. |
F |
Coatesville, Pa. |
Coatesville |
| |
| Christina Quaye |
Marquette |
Jr. |
F |
Chicago, Ill. |
Regina Dominican |
| |
| Allie Quigley |
DePaul |
So. |
G |
Joliet, Ill. |
Joliet Catholic |
| |
| Jenna Rubino |
DePaul |
Jr. |
G |
Mokena, Ill. |
Lincoln-Way East |
| |
| Vaida Sipaviciute |
Syracuse |
So. |
C |
Kaunas, Lithuania |
Patterson School (N.C.) |
| |
| Barbara Turner |
Connecticut |
Sr. |
F |
Cleveland, Ohio |
East Technical |
| |
| Mallorie Winn |
Pittsburgh |
Jr. |
G |
San Diego, Calif. |
Bishop's |
HONORABLE MENTION
| Monique Blake |
Seton Hall |
Jr. |
F |
Union, N.J. |
Union |
| Charde Houston |
Connecticut |
So. |
F |
San Diego, Calif. |
San Diego |
| Mel Thomas |
Connecticut |
So. |
G |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Mount Notre Dame |
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
| |
| Shelly Bellman |
Cincinnati |
Fr. |
G |
Ottawa, Ohio |
Ottawa-Glandorf |
| |
| Krystal Ellis |
Marquette |
Fr. |
G |
Racine, Wis. |
St. Catherine's |
| |
| Chelsea Marandola |
Providence |
Fr. |
G |
Johnston, R.I. |
Johnston |
| |
| Angel McCoughtry |
Louisville |
Fr. |
F |
Baltimore, Md. |
Patterson School |
| |
| Renee Montgomery |
Connecticut |
Fr. |
G |
St. Albans, W.Va. |
South Charleston |
* - unanimous selection # - Due to a tie in voting, an extra member has been
added to the second team
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