Oct. 28, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team was tabbed to tie for fourth in the SEC and seniors Jence Rhoads and Hannah Tuomi were recognized as preseason All-SEC selections in a vote by the league’s head coaches on Thursday.
Vanderbilt was picked to tie for fourth in the league with Georgia after both received 88 points in the poll. Tennessee was picked to win the league for a second straight year and Kentucky and LSU were selected to finish second and third, respectively. The vote by the coaches comes on the heels of the media selecting Vanderbilt to finish third in its preseason poll.
Rhoads earned first team All-SEC recognition, while Tuomi was selected to the second team. A 2010 first team All-SEC selection, Rhoads was also named to the media’s preseason first team. The Slippery Rock, Pa., native averaged 13.8 points and 5.0 assists last season. Rhoads also earned one vote for preseason SEC Player of the Year, which was awarded to Kentucky’s Victoria Dunlap (8 votes).
Tuomi earned preseason second team honors after averaging 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds last season. It marks the second straight season the Thornton, Colo., native was selected to the preseason second team All-SEC by the league’s coaches.
Vanderbilt, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee were the only schools with multiple preseason All-SEC selections.
Points were compiled on an 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 Commodores are coming off a 23-11 season where they finished 9-7 in the SEC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt has won 20-plus games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 11 straight seasons.
Vanderbilt opens the season Nov. 4 against Delta State in exhibition play.
Order of Finish
School, Points
1. Tennessee, 121
2. Kentucky, 108
3. LSU, 93
T4. Georgia, 88
T4. Vanderbilt, 88
6. Auburn, 59
7. South Carolina, 48
8. Alabama, 43
9. Ole Miss, 42
10. Florida, 39
11. Arkansas, 35
12. Mississippi State, 28
First Team All-SEC
Alli Smalley, Auburn
Porsha Phillips, Georgia
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
Jence Rhoads, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Tierney Jenkins, Alabama
C’eira Ricketts, Arkansas
Jasmine James, Georgia
Katherine Graham, LSU
Marah Strickland, South Carolina
Kelley Cain, Tennessee
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
Hannah Tuomi, Vanderbilt
Player of the Year, Points
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky, 8
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee, 2
Marah Strickland, South Carolina, 1
Jence Rhoads, Vanderbilt, 1
