Oct. 29, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Vanderbilt senior Merideth Marsh and junior Hannah Tuomi were recognized Thursday when the Southeastern Conference unveiled its sixth annual women’s basketball preseason All-SEC first and second teams.
Both Commodores were chosen on the second team by a vote of the league’s 12 coaches. As a team, Vanderbilt was picked to finish fifth in the conference behind Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State and Georgia.
Head Coach Melanie Balcomb’s Commodores will play host to their first exhibition game tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 30) at 7 p.m., when Union (Tenn.) University visits Memorial Gymnasium.
Marsh also earned second-team honors from the league’s coaches at the end of last season. As a junior, the Louisville, Ky., native averaged 10.7 points per game and led the Commodores in three-point shooting.
Tuomi started the Commodores’ first 28 games before missing all of the postseason due to injury. The Thornton, Colo., product averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in her sophomore campaign.
In the league’s closest vote to date, Tennessee was predicted to win the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball regular season championship over LSU by only one vote. South Carolina was picked sixth, with Florida, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Alabama rounding out the lower half.
LSU senior guard Allison Hightower was named SEC Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year. The All-SEC First Team also included Arkansas’ C’eira Ricketts, Georgia’s Ashley Houts and Angel Robinson, LSU teammate LaSondra Barrett, Mississippi State’s Alexis Rack and Tennessee’s Angie Bjorklund and Shekinna Stricklen.
The Second Team consisted of Marsh and Tuomi, Auburn’s Alli Smalley, Georgia’s Porsha Phillips, Kentucky’s Victoria Dunlap, Ole Miss’ Bianca Thomas, Mississippi State’s Armelie Lumanu and Chanel Mokango and Tennessee’s Glory Johnson.
Points were compiled on a 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for order of prediction, while each player received two points for a first-team vote and one point for a second-team vote. Ties were not broken and coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team or players.
The complete listing of all honors follows:
School (PTS)
Tennessee (112)
LSU (111)
Mississippi State (100)
Georgia (91)
Vanderbilt (86)
South Carolina (56)
Florida (55)
Auburn (51)
Arkansas (49)
Ole Miss (39)
Kentucky (27)
Alabama (13)
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
C’eira Ricketts, Arkansas
Ashley Houts, Georgia^
Angel Robinson, Georgia
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
Allison Hightower, LSU^
Alexis Rack, Mississippi State
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
Alli Smalley, Auburn
Porsha Phillips, Georgia
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky
Bianca Thomas, Ole Miss
Armelie Lumanu, Mississippi State
Chanel Mokango, Mississippi State
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
Merideth Marsh, Vanderbilt
Hannah Tuomi, Vanderbilt
PLAYER OF THE YEAR (PTS)
Allison Hightower, LSU (9)
Ashley Houts, Georgia (1)
Angel Robinson, Georgia (1)
Bianca Thomas, Ole Miss (1)
^Unanimous Selection; Ties are not broken