Aug. 31, 2010

STORRS, Conn. - 2010 University of Connecticut graduate Tina Charles has been honored as the WNBA Rookie of the Year as announced by the league on Tuesday, August 31. Charles is the second Husky to be so honored as Diana Taurasi also earned the award in 2004.

Charles, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 WNBA draft, finished her career at UConn as the team's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She led the team with 9.5 rebounds per game and was second at 18.2 points per contest during UConn's run to the 2010 National Championship.

Charles, a four-time Rookie of the Month winner in 2010, set a league record with 22 double-doubles this season. She also established a new mark for total rebounds in a year with 398. The first-year player set a rookie record with 23 rebounds in a game, which was also a career high. She recorded 10 or more rebounds 23 times.

Charles has also established new single-season franchise marks for offensive (129) and defensive (269) rebounds. Her defensive rebound total is the second highest in league history, behind the 276 Lisa Leslie collected in 2004.

She averaged 11.7 reboundes per game for the Sun to lead the league.