Jackson named to elite USBWA All-America Team
ST. LOUIS -- The U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced Wednesday its 2004-05 women's postseason honors, with University of Texas 6-3 sophomore forward Tiffany Jackson (Dallas, Texas/Duncanville HS) named to the 10-player USBWA All-America Team. Jackson's All-America honor follows her 2003-04 USBWA National Freshman of the Year Award. This is the 6-3 sophomore's first All-America Team honor. A finalist for the Naismith, Wooden Award and State Farm Wade Trophy as National Player of the Year, Jackson leads the No. 11 Longhorns (21-8) into the NCAA Championship with her team-highs of 18.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.2 steals per game. Jackson also is a finalist for Kodak All-America honors. She was a First Team All-Big 12 pick and was named to the 2005 Big 12 All-Tournament Team as well. Jackson is one of three Big 12 Conference players named to this year's USBWA All-America Team (joined by Baylor junior forward Sophia Young and Kansas State senior forward Kendra Wecker). Texas is the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Mideast (Chattanooga Regional) and will open the 2005 NCAA Championship against No. 14 Oral Roberts (22-8) on Saturday, March 19 at 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPN and ESPNU. That game is the first of four taking place at Reunion Arena in Dallas on Saturday. The Texas-Oral Roberts winner advances to face the winner of the No. 6 Georgia (22-9) -No. 13 Rice (24-8) first-round game. The second-round games in Dallas take place on Monday, March 21. LSU junior forward Seimone Augustus and head coach Pokey Chatman are the association's National Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. It's the seventh time since the USBWA started naming both a coach and player of the year in 1989-90 that both honorees have come from the same school. Chatman, a former All-America player and longtime assistant at LSU, has led the Tigers to a 28-1 mark and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Augustus, the 2003 USBWA Freshman of the Year, is averaging 20.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the SEC regular-season champs while being named the SEC's Player of the Year. Her backcourt mate, Tameka Johnson, joins her on the 2004-05 USBWA All-America Team. Johnson, a two-time All-SEC selection, is second in the nation with 7.5 assists per game. Wecker, the Big 12's and K-State's all-time leading scorer, is averaging a Big 12-best 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Young was the Big 12 tournament MVP. The other USBWA All-Americans are: Minnesota All-America center Janel McCarville, who will become the first Golden Gopher to play in four NCAA tournaments. Fellow Big Ten center and sophomore Jessica Davenport of Ohio State, leads the Buckeyes with 19.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game; TCU's Sandora Irvin is the NCAA's all-time leader in blocked shots. Penn State's Tanisha Wright and Duke's Monique Currie also earned USBWA All-America honors. Wright was the Big Ten's leading scorer (19.6). Currie, the ACC Player of the Year, is the only player in the conference to rank in the top 15 in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Two players were chosen as the USBWA's Freshman of the Year: Stanford's Candice Wiggins (17.3 ppg) and Georgia's Tasha Humphrey (19.1 points and 8.2 rebounds). The U.S. Basketball Writers Association, formed in 1956, has named a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season. The association has also named a national player of the year since 1987-88 and a national coach of the year since 1989-90. In 2002-03, the USBWA initiated an award for the nation's top freshman. For more information about the USBWA and its annual awards, go to USBWA.com. Following is the complete list of 2004-05 USBWA women's honors: 2005 U.S. Basketball Writers Association Women's All-America Team USBWA Freshman of the Year Player of the Year: Seimone Augustus, LSU
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