BATON ROUGE -- LSU senior guard Allison Hightower received votes for the five-player women’s college basketball 2009-10 Associated Press Preseason All-America Team that was released by the organization on Tuesday.

Hightower, a native of Arlington, Texas, was one of two Southeastern Conference players who received votes. Tennessee’s Angie Bjorklund also made the list.

The five-player team included Connecticut’s Maya Moore, who was a unanimous selection. Moore was joined on the preseason squad by teammate Tina Charles, Stanford's Jayne Appel, Ohio State's Jantel Lavender and Virginia's Monica Wright.
“It’s an honor to just be recognized and receiving votes,” Hightower said. “Those are a great group of players on that team when you talk about Maya Moore and Tina Charles at Connecticut.”
 
Hightower, the 2010 SEC Preseason Player of the Year as voted by the media and coaches, led LSU in six categories as a junior. Her 14.9 point per game average was fifth-best in the SEC a season ago. The 5-10 guard became the first player in school history to lead the Lady Tigers in points, assists, steals and blocks in a single season.

Hightower, a 2009 first-team All-SEC selection, is on watch lists for the Wade Trophy and John Wooden Award. Those awards go to women’s college basketball’s National Player of the Year in the spring. 

Hightower and the Lady Tigers take on Loyola-New Orleans in an exhibition game at the Maravich Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. CST. LSU plays host to Centenary in the season-opener on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. CST.

2009-10 Associated Press Preseason All-America Team
Maya Moore, Connecticut, 6-0, junior, 19.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, .521 fg pct (40 votes)
Jayne Appel, Stanford, 6-4, senior, 16.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg, .602 fg pct (34)
Tina Charles, Connecticut, 6-4, senior, 16.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, .620 fg pct (28)
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State, 6-4, junior, 20.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg, .541 fg pct (20)
Monica Wright, Virginia, 5-11, senior, 20.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 117 3-pointers (20)

Others receiving votes (in alphabetical order): Ashley Barlow, Notre Dame; Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee; Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee State; Elena Delle Donne, Delaware; Alexis Gray-Lawson, California; Brittney Griner, Baylor; Allison Hightower, LSU; Danielle McCray, Kansas; Deirdre Naughton, DePaul; Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford; Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State; Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State; Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma; Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga.
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