BATON ROUGE -- Sylvia Fowles and Van Chancellor were once again honored as the Southeastern Conference’s best, this time by the Associated Press when the media organization named Fowles the SEC’s Player of the Year and Chancellor the SEC’s Coach of the Year.
Fowles, a senior center for the LSU women’s basketball team, was also named as a unanimous first-team All-SEC selection and was joined on the five-player first-team by teammate Quianna Chaney.
Erica White earned second-team honors.
The honors, released by the AP on Tuesday, were voted on by members of the media around the nation.
“It is nice for this program to receive these honors,” Chancellor said. “The coaches and players worked so hard all season to accomplish the goal of becoming SEC Champions and theses honors reflect the hard work. I am personally honored to be named coach of the year, but all of the credit goes to my assistant coaches and players.”
Chancellor, in his first season as the head coach of the Lady Tigers, guided LSU to a perfect 14-0 league mark. He was also named Coach of the Year by the league’s 12 coaches and is one of four finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award.
Fowles, also one of four finalists for the Naismith National Player of the Year award, is just the second LSU player to receive the SEC’s Player of the Year honor, joining Seimone Augustus who earned the honor in 2005 and 2006.
Fowles led LSU to the program’s third SEC regular season title with 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The Miami, Fla., native also shot a league-best 59.9 percent from the floor and collected 19 double doubles, including 10 in league play.
“This means a lot to me. I share this award with my teammates and my coaches. Without them I would not be able to accomplish what I have on the court,” Fowles said.
Chaney, who averaged 15.0 points per game, received her first first-team All-SEC honor. The senior from Baton Rouge was named second-team all-conference last season.
White, who averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 assists per game overall and 9.1 points and 4.4 assists per conference game, earned her first SEC post season honor. The Jacksonville, Fla., native also led the league with a 2.46 assist-to-turnover ratio.
LSU will host Jackson State on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. CDT in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Lady Tigers received a No. 2 seed in the New Orleans region.
The 2008 Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference women's basketball team released Tuesday, with name, school, position, height and class (u-unanimous choice to first team):
FIRST TEAM
u-Candace Parker, Tennessee, F-C, 6-4, Jr.
u-Sylvia Fowles, LSU, C, 6-6, Sr.
Quianna Chaney, LSU, G, 5-11, Sr.
DeWanna Bonner, Auburn, G, 6-4, Jr.
Tasha Humphrey, Georgia, F, 6-3, Sr.
SECOND TEAM
Marshae Dotson, Florida, F, 5-11, Jr.
Alexis Hornbuckle, Tennessee, G, 5-11, Sr.
Christina Wirth, Vanderbilt, G-F, 6-1, Jr.
Erica White, LSU, G, 5-3, Sr.
Shannon Bobbitt, Tennessee, G, 5-2, Sr.
Demetress Adams, South Carolina, F, 6-4, Jr.
Ashley Houts, Georgia, G, 5-6, So.
Shawn Goff, Ole Miss, C, 6-3, Jr.
HONORABLE MENTION
Sarah Elliott, Kentucky, C, 6-6, Sr.; Reneisha Hobbs, Auburn, G, 5-10, So.; Samantha Mahoney. Kentucky, G, 5-10, Sr.; Jennifer Risper, Vanderbilt, G, 5-9, Jr.; Brittney Vaughn, Arkansas, G, 5-7, Sr.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sylvia Fowles, LSU
COACH OF THE YEAR: Van Chancellor, LSU
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee
