March 30, 2010
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University women's basketball junior Courtney Vandersloot became the first two-time Associated Press All-America honoree. Vandersloot was named an honorable mention selection for the second straight season after Gonzaga's historic season ended in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
Vandersloot, the back-to-back West Coast Conference Player of the Year, ended her season as the nations assist leader at 9.4 per game, and is sixth in steals per contest at 3.6 and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.2. The Kent, Wash., native helped Gonzaga to an astonishing 29-5 overall mark, the 29 wins being the most in a Zag single season, its sixth-straight West Coast Conference regular season title, its third WCC Tournament championship in four years and its first NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history.
She became the West Coast Conference and Gonzaga career assists leader (751) and the Bulldog career steals leader (252). Vandersloot registered 10 double doubles (9 pts/asts, 1 pts/stls) and scored double-figure points in 27 of GU's 34 contests, including six 20-plus games. She dished out double-figure assists 12 times, including a career-high 16 against the University of North Dakota on Nov. 25, 2009.
Vandersloot's 321 assists handed out this season is a Bulldog single-season record, breaking her old mark of 239 in 2008-09. She also broke the single-season steals mark of 96 held by Maria Stack (1984-85) as she made 121 steals.
Vandersloot is one of three Zags to earn AP honors as Shannon Mathews and Stephanie Hawk also garnered honorable mention accolades in 2005 and 2007, respectively.
The University of Connecticut's Maya Moore and Tina Charles, along with Nebraska's Kelsey Griffin, Virgina's Monica Wright and Ohio State's Jantel Lavender made up the first team.
FIRST TEAM
Maya Moore, Connecticut, 6-0, junior, Lawrenceville, Ga., 18.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 4.1 apg, 51.1 fg pct.
Tina Charles, Connecticut, 6-4, senior, Jamaica, N.Y., 18.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.2 blocks, 63.5 fg pct.
Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska, 6-2, senior, Eagle River, Alaska, 20.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 60.2 fg pct.
Monica Wright, Virginia, 5-11, senior, Woodbridge, Va., 23.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.7 steals
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State, 6-4, junior, Cleveland, 21.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 51.4 fg pct.
SECOND TEAM
Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State, 5-5, senior, Dallas, 26.7 ppg, 6.5 apg, 80.2 ft pct.
Nnemka Ogwumike, Stanford, 6-2, sophomore, Cypress, Texas, 18.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 61.1 fg pct.
Jayne Appel, Stanford, 6-4, senior, Pleasant Hill, Calif., 13.6 ppd, 8.7 rpg, 54.3 fg pct.
Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee State, 5-10, senior, Mount Juliet, Tenn., 28.3 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 61.4 fg pct., 2.4 stl
Brittney Griner, Baylor, 6-8, freshman, Houston, 18.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 50.7 fg pct, 6.4 blks
THIRD TEAM
Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma, 5-9, junior, San Jose, Calif., 16.7 ppg, 5.3 apg, 87.4 ft pct.
Jasmine Thomas, Duke, 5-9, junior, Fairfax, Va., 16.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.8 steals
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky, 6-1, junior, 17.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.1 steals
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware, 6-5, freshman, Wilmington, Del., 26.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.0 blocks, 89.8 ft pct.
Amber Harris, Xavier, 6-4, junior, Indianapolis, 16.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 56.1 fg pct, 42.4 3-pt fg pct.
HONORABLE MENTION
Danielle Adams, Texas A&M; Kachine Alexander, Iowa; Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee; Alyssa DeHaan, Michigan State; Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame; Dawn Evans, James Madison; Rachele Fitz, Marist; Tyra Grant, Penn State; Alexis Gray-Lawson, California; Kalana Greene, Connecticut; Allison Hightower, LSU; Alison Lacey, Iowa State; Judie Lomax, Columbia, Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts; Gabriela Marginiean, Drexel; Nicole Michael, Syracuse; Jacinta Monroe, Florida State; Kayla Pedersen, Stanford; Ta'Shia Phillips, Xavier; Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State; Chastity Reed, Arkansas-Little Rock; Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown; Lindsey Schraeder, Notre Dame; Tanisha Smith, Texas A&M; Da'shena Stevenson, St. John's; Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee; Helena Sverrisdottir, TCU; Bianca Thomas, Mississippi; Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga; Courtney Ward, Florida State; Kaylee Whipple, Utah.
