March 26, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State junior guard Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) is among a group of just 40 players from across the nation to be named a finalist for the 2009 State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Thursday.
The 40 finalists were chosen by WBCA-member coaches from a group of 52 regional nominees. Morris is now in the running for selection to the 10-member State Farm Coaches' All-America Team, which will be announced on April 4 at 7:45 a.m. PT from the Final Four in St. Louis, Mo.
Morris led the Aztecs to the program's first NCAA tournament bid in 12 years and the team's first NCAA victory in 15 seasons, before falling in the second round to second-ranked Stanford. She averaged a team-best 16.1 points per game, scoring 20 or more points eight times and eclipsing the 30-point barrier on three occasions in 2008-09, including a 35-point performance vs. DePaul.
She led the league in steals in both overall (3.33/g) and conference-only (2.94/g) outings, ranking seventh nationally and becoming the first Aztec to record 100 steals in a season since Falisha Wright in 1993-94. Morris had three or more steals in 20 of her 30 games, including a league-high eight on two occasions, which are the most by an Aztec since 2002.
Morris' other honors this season include being named the 2009 MWC Defensive Player of the Year, first-team all-conference, MWC all-defensive team, MWC Championship all-tournament team and four-time MWC player of the week.
SDSU ended the year with a 24-8 overall record and a 13-3 mark in conference play, capturing a share of its first-ever Mountain West Conference regular season title and advancing to its second consecutive MWC championship game.
Name | Institution | Year | Pos. | Height |
Jayne Appel | Stanford Univ. | Jr. | C | 6'4 |
Chante Black | Duke Univ. | Sr. | C | 6'5 |
Whitney Boddie | Auburn Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'9 |
DeWanna Bonner | Auburn Univ. | Sr. | G | 6'4 |
Sha Brooks | Univ. of Florida | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
Tina Charles | Univ. of Connecticut | Jr. | C | 6'4 |
Kristi Cirone | Illinois State Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
Alysha Clark | Middle Tennessee St. Univ. | Jr. | F | 5'10 |
Marissa Coleman | Univ. of Maryland | Sr. | G/F | 6'1 |
Siarre Evans | East Tennessee State Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
Danielle Gant | Texas A&M Univ. | Sr. | G/F | 5'11 |
Allison Hightower | Louisiana State Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
Ashley Houts | Univ. of Georgia | Jr. | G | 5'6 |
Briann January | Arizona State Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
Jantel Lavender | Ohio State Univ. | Soph. | C | 6'4 |
Shalee Lehning | Kansas State Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'9 |
Lyndra Littles | Univ. of Virginia | Sr. | G/F | 6'1 |
Rashanda McCants | Univ. of North Carolina | Sr. | G/F | 6'1 |
Angel McCoughtry | Univ. of Louisville | Sr. | F | 6'1 |
Danielle McCray | Univ. of Kansas | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
Renee Montgomery | Univ. of Connecticut | Sr. | G | 5'7 |
Maya Moore | Univ. of Connecticut | Soph. | F | 6'0 |
San Diego State Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'9 | |
Deirdre Naughton | DePaul Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'10 |
Courtney Paris | Univ. of Oklahoma | Sr. | C | 6'4 |
Ta'Shia Phillips | Xavier Univ. | Soph. | C | 6'6 |
Rachel Porath | Univ. of Wisconsin, Green Bay | Sr. | G | 5'10 |
Epiphanny Prince | Rutgers Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'9 |
Takia Starks | Texas A&M Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
Kristi Toliver | Univ. of Maryland | Sr. | G | 5'7 |
Courtney Vandersloot | Gonzaga Univ. | Soph. | G | 5'8 |
Kia Vaughn | Rutgers Univ. | Sr. | C | 6'4 |
Ashley Walker | Univ. of California, Berkeley | Sr. | F | 6'0 |
Morgan Warburton | Univ. of Utah | Sr. | G | 5'11 |
Natasha Williams | DePaul Univ. | Sr. | F | 6'3 |
Danielle Wilson | Baylor Univ. | Jr. | C | 6'3 |
Christina Wirth | Vanderbilt Univ. | Sr. | F | 6'1 |
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton | Purdue Univ. | Sr. | F | 6'2 |
Monica Wright | Univ. of Virginia | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
Shavonte Zellous | Univ. of Pittsburgh | Sr. | G | 5'11 |