Nov. 4, 2009
SAN DIEGO - The preseason awards continue to pile up for Aztec guard Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.), who Wednesday was selected as one of just 30 nominees for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for NCAA Division I women's basketball. The annual honor is given to senior student-athletes who excel both on and off the court and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
Morris was an honorable mention All-American a year ago, averaging 16.1 points and 3.3 steals per game in leading the Aztecs to the program's first NCAA tournament bid in 12 years and a share of the regular season conference title. So far this year, Morris has been named a candidate for both national player-of-the-year awards, the Wade Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award, and was tabbed the Mountain West Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Morris also garnered third-team preseason All-America honors from Sporting News College Basketball magazine.
The list of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which enters its ninth year, will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season. The winner will then be selected by a vote of media, coaches and fans.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Morris and her teammates will be in action for the first time, when San Diego State has its first and only exhibition contest Friday, Nov. 6, against Point Loma Nazarene at 7 p.m. at Viejas Arena. The season officially kicks off Nov. 13, when the Aztecs travel to UC Irvine.
2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Women's Basketball Candidates
Name Position School
Jayne Appel Center Stanford University
Miranda Ayim Forward/Center Pepperdine University
Amy Beggin Guard University of New Mexico
Joy Cheek Forward/Guard Duke University
Alysha Clark Forward Middle Tennessee State University
Allyssa DeHaan Center Michigan State University
Claire Faucher Guard Portland State University
Kristen Feemster Forward Western Carolina University
Jordan Franey Guard/Forward University of California, Santa Barbara
Tyra Grant Guard Pennsylvania State University
Alexis Gray-Lawson Guard University of California, Berkeley
Kelsey Griffin Forward University of Nebraska
Lisa Helmers Guard Loyola Marymount University
Allison Hightower Guard Louisiana State University
Ashley Houts Guard University of Georgia
May Kotsopoulos Guard University of Vermont
Maggie Krick Guard Illinois State University
Kelsey Luna Guard Indiana State University
Joy McCorvey Forward St. John's University
Danielle McCray Guard/Forward University of Kansas
Jessica Mooney Guard Vanderbilt University
Jené Morris Guard San Diego State University
Deirdre Naughton Guard DePaul University
Lauren Sims Guard Long Beach State University
Jenna Smith Center University of Illinois
Ashley Sweat Forward Kansas State University
Bianca Thomas Guard University of Mississippi
Amanda Thompson Forward University of Oklahoma
Jenny Van Kirk Forward Bradley University
Monica Wright Guard University of Virginia