March 2, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Junior point guard Jence Rhoads headlined a group of four Commodores who earned Southeastern Conference honors Tuesday when the league announced its postseason awards.
Rhoads earned first-team All-SEC recognition from the conference’s 12 coaches. Senior Merideth Marsh received second-team All-SEC honors and newcomers Elan Brown and Tiffany Clarke both made the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Rhoads led the Commodores in scoring in a team-high seven conference contests. For the year, the Slippery Rock, Pa., native averaged 13.7 points and 5.2 assists per game. She led the league in minutes played (36.2 min./game) and ranked in the Top 10 in scoring, field goal percentage, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. This marks the 22nd time that a Commodore has been honored on the league’s first team since 1989.
The honor for Marsh is her second-consecutive All-SEC second-team selection in as many years. The senior from Louisville led Vanderbilt in scoring with 14.8 points per game. At 87 percent, Marsh was the most accurate free-throw shooter in the conference, while also ranking among league leaders in scoring, assists, three-point shooting and minutes played.
The recognition for Brown and Clarke marks the second time in three years that Vanderbilt has placed two players on the eight-member All-Freshman team after Rhoads and classmate Hannah Tuomi were lauded in 2008. Brown and Clarked, both Atlanta-area products, played AAU ball together for the Georgia Metros last year and will be returning to their old stomping grounds this week as the SEC Tournament returns to the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., for 2010.
Clarke was a unanimous choice for All-Freshman honors after averaging 8.1 points per game and pulling a team-high 156 rebounds in her first year in Nashville. Brown became a fixture in the Commodores’ starting lineup down the stretch, averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds during SEC play.
Vanderbilt finished the 2010 regular season in a tie for third place in the league, earning the fifth seed for this week’s SEC Tournament. The Commodores will begin defense of their 2009 SEC Tournament championship — the school’s sixth — on Thursday, March 4, at 6:30 p.m. ET against No. 12 seed Arkansas. The winner of that contest will face No. 4 seed LSU on Friday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s semifinals are scheduled for 3:30 and 6, with Sunday’s championship game tipping at 6:30.
Complete list of 2010 SEC Awards:
First Team All-SEC
Ashley Houts, UG
*Victoria Dunlap, UK
*Allison Hightower, LSU
Bianca Thomas, UM
Alexis Rack, MSU
*Angie Bjorklund, UT
Kelley Cain, UT
Jence Rhoads, VU
Second Team All-SEC
Alli Smalley, AU
A’dia Mathies, UK
Shekinna Stricklen, UT
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
Armelie Lumanu, MSU
Kelsey Bone, SC
Valerie Nainima, SC
Merideth Marsh, VU
All-Freshman Team
Morgan Toles, AU
Jennifer George, UF
Jasmine Hassell, UG
*Jasmine James, UG
*A’dia Mathies, UK
*Kelsey Bone, SC
Elan Brown, VU
*Tiffany Clarke, VU
All-Defensive Team
Victoria Dunlap, UK
Allison Hightower, LSU
Armelie Lumanu, MSU
Chanel Mokango, MSU
Kelley Cain, UT
Coach of the Year
Matthew Mitchell, Kentucky
Player of the Year
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
Defensive Player of the Year
Armelie Lumanu, Mississippi State
6th Woman of the Year
Alyssia Brewer, Tennessee
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee