University of Connecticut Athletics
Bird Earns AP First Team All-America Honors
3/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STORRS, CT (Mar. 12, 2002) -- UConn women's basketball senior standout Sue Bird (Syosset, NY) has been named to The Associated Press All-America team, as announced by the news agency Tuesday evening. Bird received the most votes from the nationwide media panel.
Joining Bird on the All-America first team are Duke's Alana Beard, Oklahoma's Stacey Dales, Vanderbilt's Chantelle Anderson and Mississippi State's LaToya Thomas. The first team duplicated the preseason All-America team from November.
Bird, the 2002 BIG EAST Player of the Year and a member of the 2001 AP All-America Third Team, averages 13.7 points and 5.9 assists per game for the No. 1 Huskies. She was selected to the first team on 41 out of 44 ballots and amassed 214 points on a 5-3-1 basis, the most for any player.
UConn also was represented on the All-America second team by senior Swin Cash (McKeesport, PA) and sophomore Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA). Cash averages a team-leading 15.2 points and 8.9 rebounds a game for the Huskies while Taurasi registers 14.4 points and 5.2 assists per game.
Senior Asjha Jones (Piscataway, NJ), the 2002 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player, made the third team to give UConn four members on the three All-America teams, the first time one school has had that many selections.
Senior Tamika Williams (Dayton, OH) also received Honorable Mention All-America accolades.
The Associated Press All-America Teams
FIRST TEAM
Sue Bird (Connecticut)
Alana Beard (Duke)
Chantelle Anderson Vanderbilt)
Stacey Dales (Oklahoma)
LaToya Thomas (Mississippi State)
SECOND TEAM
Swin Cash (Connecticut)
Angie Welle (Iowa State)
Nicole Powell (Stanford)
Diana Taurasi (Connecticut)
Kelly Mazzante (Penn State)
THIRD TEAM
Sheila Lambert (Baylor)
Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota)
Kara Lawson (Tennessee)
Linda Frohlich (UNLV)
Asjha Jones (Connecticut)
Shereka Wright (Purdue)
HONORABLE MENTION
LaNeishea Caufield, Oklahoma; Danielle Crockrom, Baylor; Shaun Gortman, South Carolina; Vanessa Hayden, Florida; Temeka Johnson, LSU; Chandi Jones, Houston; Zuzi Klimesova, Vanderbilt; Amanda Levens, Arizona State; Susan Moran, Saint Joseph's; Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State; Felicia Ragland, Oregon State; Alicia Ratay, Notre Dame; Michelle Snow, Tennessee; Jessie Stomski, Wisconsin; Nikki Teasley, North Carolina; Iciss Tillis, Duke; Ayana Walker, Louisiana Tech; Lenae Williams, DePaul; Shaquala Williams, Oregon; Tamika Williams, Connecticut; Lindsey Yamasaki, Stanford.
