March 4, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt junior Christina Wirth earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors Tuesday, highlighting a group of five Commodores that earned postseason recognition from conference coaches.
Along with Wirth’s first-team recognition, classmate Jennifer Risper was a second-team All-SEC recipient. Risper also was honored on the league’s All-Defensive team. Sophomore Jessica Mooney shared the title of SEC Sixth Woman of the Year with LSU’s Alison Hightower, while both Jence Rhoads and Hannah Tuomi were named to the SEC All-Freshmen team.
Wirth, a native of Mesa, Ariz., leads the SEC in three-point shooting accuracy and ranks in the league’s Top 10 in scoring. She averaged 13.6 points per league game while playing the full 40 minutes of four contests.
A product of Moreno Valley, Calif., Risper leads the SEC in steals and ranks among league leaders in rebounding, assists, free throw percentage and minutes played. The 5-9 guard has three double-doubles on the season and tallied three or more steals on 16 occasions.
Mooney has come off the bench in all 16 league games and scored in double-figures eight times. VU Head Coach Melanie Balcomb has continually praised the Nashville native for providing the Commodores with a spark as part of the team’s “starting seven.”
The Commodores’ freshmen class has made a big contribution this season, with two first-year players cracking Balcomb’s starting lineup for the first time in four years. Both Rhoads and Tuomi were lauded for their efforts this season.
A point guard from Slippery Rock, Pa., Rhoads has dished out 100 assists this year and boasts an impressive 1.7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Tuomi, a post who hails from Thornton, Colo., has averaged six points and five rebounds per game, including her first career double-double at then-No. 2 Tennessee.
Vanderbilt opens play at the 2008 SEC Tournament — hosted at the Sommet Center in Nashville — on Friday, March 7, at 9 p.m. CT, against the winner of Thursday’s matchup between Auburn and Arkansas. The Commodores are seeded third in the tournament after a school record 11 SEC wins this season.
Along with the six annual honors, Vanderbilt also boasts the reigning SEC Player of the Week in sophomore guard Merideth Marsh. Marsh posted team-high totals against Auburn and Alabama while shooting 60 percent from long range last week.
2008 Southeastern Conference Postseason Honors (as voted by league coaches)
First Team All-SEC
Sylvia Fowles, LSU*; Candace Parker, Tennessee*; Tasha Humphrey, Georgia; Christina Wirth, Vanderbilt; DeWanna Bonner, Auburn; Quianna Chaney, LSU; Alexis Hornbuckle, Tennessee; and Marshae Dotson, Florida
Second Team All-SEC
Samantha Mahoney, Kentucky; Shannon Bobbitt, Tennessee; Sarah Elliott, Kentucky; Shawn Goff, Ole Miss; Ashley Houts, Georgia; Jennifer Risper, Vanderbilt; Erica White, LSU; and Demetress Adams, South Carolina.
All-Freshman Team
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee*; Vicki Dunlap, Kentucky; Angela Puleo, Georgia; Amber Smith, Kentucky; Alli Smalley, Auburn; Jence Rhoads, Vanderbilt; Mary Kathryn Govero, Mississippi State; and Hannah Tuomi, Vanderbilt.
All-SEC Defensive Team
Sylvia Fowles, LSU*; Alexis Hornbuckle, Tennessee; Brittney Vaughn, Arkansas; Jennifer Risper, Vanderbilt; and Demetress Adams, South Carolina
Coach of the Year
Van Chancellor, LSU
Player of the Year
Sylvia Fowles, LSU
Freshman of the Year
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee
Defensive Player of the Year
Sylvia Fowles, LSU
Sixth Woman of the Year
Jessica Mooney, Vanderbilt; and Allison Hightower, LSU
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Chelsea Chowning, Kentucky
*indicates unanimous
