University of Connecticut Athletics
Renee Montgomery Named Winner of BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
3/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - University of Connecticut senior Renee Montgomery (St. Albans, W. Va.) was named as the winner of the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award, which was announced along with other postseason conference honors on Thursday afternoon.
A total of three UConn players were unanimous first team All-BIG EAST selections as Montgomery was joined by sophomore Maya Moore (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and junior Tina Charles (Jamaica, N.Y.).
In addition, Tiffany Hayes (Lakeland, Fla.) was selected to the All-BIG EAST Freshman team, following a rookie campaign that has seen her post double-figure points 15 times this season and earn three BIG EAST Freshman of the Week awards.
Montgomery is the first UConn player win the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award and is just the fifth player in Connecticut history to be recognized as a first team All-BIG EAST selection for three consecutive seasons joining Diana Taurasi, Svetlana Abrosimova, Kerry Bascom and Rebecca Lobo.
Moore earned her second straight first-team All-BIG EAST recognition after leading teh team in scoring (18.9 ppg) and rebounds (9.1 rpg). Earlier this season she became the fastest player in UConn history to reach the 1,000-point milestone, taking just 55 games. Her current scoring total this season of 567 points ranks as the third-highest total ever by a UConn sophomore - 89 points shy of Kerry Bascom's school-record total.
Charles earned first-team all-league status for the second time in her career following a season which saw her post eight double-doubles and continue to establish herself as one of the top post players in both the BIG EAST Conference as well as nationally. Charles reached 1,000 career points in the season opener and currently leads the squad with 52 blocks.
With this year's three first-team All-BIG EAST selections, UConn now boasts a total of 37 in the program's history.
