The University of Mississippi Athletics
Price And Easley Honored By SEC Coaches
2/27/2007 | Women's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference announced its 2007 women's basketball postseason awards Tuesday, highlighted by Ole Miss' Armintie Price being named Defensive Player of the Year. Price was also tabbed a unanimous First-team honoree, while her teammate Alliesha Easley picked up All-Freshman team honors.
Tennessee's Candace Parker was named Player of the Year and Georgia's Ashley Houts was named Freshman of the Year. First-team and second-team All-SEC honorees, All-Freshman team, along with Player, Coach and Freshman, Defensive Player, 6th Woman and Scholar-Athlete of the Year were chosen by the league's 12 coaches.
"Armintie and Alliesha have been two of the primary reasons for the success of our team," said Ole Miss head coach Carol Ross. "It only makes sense that the coaches in the league would see fit to honor them. Our team is having one of the most successful seasons in recent years and its great to see these two players be rewarded for their hard work in helping lead us."
Price and Parker, along with Georgia's Tasha Humphrey, LSU's Sylvia Fowles and Vanderbilt's Carla Thomas were unanimous first-team members. Rounding out the First team were DeWanna Bonner of Auburn, Tennessee's Alexis Hornbuckle and Vanderbilt's Dee Davis.
Price ranks among the top five in the league in scoring (18.0), rebounding (9.1), assists (4.8) and steals (3.8) and is the only player to do so. She earned First team honors for the third-straight season after being named to the Second team as a freshman. Price is one of only four Rebels to earn First team honors three times in their careers, joining Eugena Conner, Jennifer Gillom and Clara Jackson, with Conner and Gillom being four-time honorees. Price, who is the SEC record-holder in Player of the Week honors with nine, recently became just the fifth player in NCAA history to record over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals in a career joining Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Sophia Young.
"Once again Armintie has made her mark in the Southeastern Conference," said Ross. "She continues to establish herself as not only one of the oustanding players in the SEC, but one of the very best in the nation. When you do all of the amazing things she does on the court to help her team, this award really comes as no surprise."
Price also picked up SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second time in her career. The Myrtle, Miss., native nabbed the award as a sophomore and is the only two-time winner of the award since its inception.The 5-foot-9 guard not only leads the SEC in steals, but tops the NCAA as well, having collected 109 this season. She recorded Ole Miss' first-ever triple-double by posting a Rebel single game record 12 steals to go along with 34 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Illinois. Her 12 steals tied the SEC single game record and is the top mark in the NCAA this season. Price has posted 19 games this season with three or more thefts, including six contests where she tallied six or more steals.
Her masterful defense is about more than just steals, though, as Price tallied 16 blocks from her guard position and is the top rebounding guard in the history of the Southeastern Conference with 1,153 boards in her career, including 716 on the defensive end.
"I dont know if there has ever been a player in the NCAA who defensively impacts a game as much as Armintie Price," said Ross. "Its more than just her steals. She is the best rebounding guard in the history of the SEC and that speaks volumes. To be just 5-foot-9 and be able to control the boards the way she does is really just a testament to her will to win. She is a player her opponents have to be aware of every second of the game. She never takes a play off."
Easley is the seventh Rebel freshman to earn a spot on the All-Freshman team, following in Price's footsteps. The Cordova, Tenn., native finished the regular season ranked third on the team in scoring with 11.1 points per game. She started all 29 games, tallying double figures in 18. Easley was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice. She recorded a career best 25 points versus Illinois and led the Rebels with 19 points in their win over #5 LSU. Easley also averaged 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game for Ole Miss.
"It's great that Alliesha has been recognized for a consistent, tremendously good rookie SEC season," said Ross. "She has been a steady, dependable presence for our team. She set the tone for us in several of our big wins and has been an impact player from the day she arrived. Alliesha is very tough-minded and that is something that has helped her be such a great competitor in this conference."
Tennessee's Pat Summitt, in her 33rd season as head coach of the Lady Vols was named SEC Coach of the Year. This season Tennessee finished the regular season with a 27-2 overall record and the #1 seed of the tournament after going 14-0 in conference play. Georgia's Christy Marshall and Vanderbilt's Liz Sherwood were both named 6th Woman of the Year. While Arkansas' Sarah Pfeifer was named the SEC Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The 2007 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament begins Thursday, March 1 and runs through Sunday, March 4 in Duluth, Ga. The fifth-seeded Rebels will take on 12th-seeded Alabama at 6 p.m. (CST) on Thursday with the winner facing the No. 4 seed LSU at the same time on Friday. SEC's regional sports network (FSN South, FSN Southwest and Sun Sports) will televise all games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday while ESPN2 will broadcast the championship game at 6 p.m. ET.
The complete 2007 SEC Women's Basketball Postseason Awards follow.
First Team All-SEC
DeWanna Bonner, Auburn
Tasha Humphrey, Georgia*
Sylvia Fowles, LSU*
Armintie Price, Ole Miss*
Alexis Hornbuckle, Tennessee
Candace Parker, Tennessee*
Dee Davis, Vanderbilt
Carla Thomas, Vanderbilt*
Second Team All-SEC
Lauren Ervin, Arkansas
Marshae Dotson, Florida
Cori Chambers, Georgia
Sarah Elliott, Kentucky
Samantha Mahoney, Kentucky
Quianna Chaney, LSU
Sidney Spencer, Tennessee
Caroline Williams, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman Team
Donica Cosby, Arkansas*
Jordan Greenleaf, Auburn
Ashley Houts, Georgia
Christy Marshall, Georgia
Angel Robinson, Georgia
Allison Hightower, LSU
Alliesha Easley, Ole Miss
Alexis Rack, Mississippi State*
Coach of the Year
Pat Summitt, Tennessee
Player of the Year
Candace Parker, Tennessee
Defensive Player of the Year
Armintie Price, Ole Miss
Freshman of the Year
Ashley Houts, Georgia
6th Woman of the Year
Christy Marshall, Georgia
Liz Sherwood, Vanderbilt
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Sarah Pfeifer, Arkansas
*-unanimous selection
