Texas ranks No. 1, four Longhorns gain honors in Big 12 media selections
DALLAS -- The Texas Longhorns are the choice to win the Big 12 Conference women's basketball title this season in a vote conducted among Big 12 media representatives and released on Thursday. UT, No. 3 nationally in the first USA Today/ESPN poll of the year released this week, is searching for its third Big 12 regular season banner. Jody Conradt's Longhorns received 12 first-place votes, with Kansas State picking up the other two first-place votes. The Longhorns won the 2003 Big 12 regular season crown outright, going 15-1 in the league en route to their first Big 12 title, and were co-champions last year (at 14-2) along with Kansas State en route to their NCAA Final 16 finish and 30-5 mark. The media also selected preseason awards and a five-member All-Big 12 Team. Kansas State forward Kendra Wecker was selected as the top player in the league, while Texas' 6-2 junior forward Daria Mieloszynska (Poznan, Poland/Illinois Central College) garnered Newcomer of the Year accolades and Stephanie McGhee (Oklahoma) was the Preseason Freshman of the Year. Mieloszynska shared newcomer of the year honors in the Big 12 coaches poll, released last week. Texas players claimed three of the five positions on the All-Big team, with 5-6 senior guard Jamie Carey (Thornton, Colo./Horizon HS), 6-2 senior forward Heather Schreiber (Windthorst, Texas/Windthorst HS) and 6-3 sophomore forward Tiffany Jackson (Dallas, Texas/Duncanville HS) earning spots on the all-conference team. The Texas trio joined Wecker and Baylor forward Sophia Young on the media's team. All five had been the top preseason all-league selections by the coaches as well. All five the honorees on the preseason All-Big 12 women's team were among 31 players nationally named to the preseason watch list for the State Farm Wade Trophy and the Wooden Award, presented annually to the nation's top player. The Big 12 women's basketball season gets underway on Friday, Nov. 12, as Nebraska hosts Western Illinois in the Preseason WNIT. Texas will play its season opener on Sunday, Nov. 14 as part of the State Farm Tip-Off Classic doubleheader taking place in Austin. Second-ranked LSU and No. 8 Baylor square off at 12:30 p.m. followed by Texas against No. 21 Penn State at 3 p.m., with both games on ESPN2. Big 12 Media Preseason All-Conference Team Preseason All-Big 12 Media Team Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically by school)
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