Courtesy: www.LSUsports.net
2010 State Farm Wade Trophy Watch List
2010 John Wooden Award Watch List
2009 State Farm Coaches All-America Honorable Mention
2009 State Farm Coaches All-America Region III Team
2009 All-SEC First Team (Coaches, Media)
2009 SEC All-Defensive Team
2009 SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll
2008 SEC Sixth Women of the Year
2007 Freshman All-SEC
CAREER
A 2010 National Player of the Year candidate who has been a constant on both ends of the floor during her entire career ... Heads into the season on watch lists for the 2010 State Farm Wade Trophy and 2010 John Wooden Award ... Chosen as a 2009-10 preseason first-team All-America selection by the Sporting News ... As a sophomore, was named SEC Sixth Woman of the Year ... As a junior and first-year starter, emerged as one of the SEC and nation’s premier players ... Has played in 105 career games with 34 starts ... Seeks to become the 28th Lady Tiger in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau and the first since Sylvia Fowles as she sits at 943 career points ... Ranks 10th in school history in career blocked shots with 76 ... The school record holder in career blocked shots by a guard ... Has played in 12 career NCAA Tournament games, which ranks 10th in school history ... Averaged 8.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in her career ... Reached double-figures 41 times, including seven 20-point games.
JUNIOR SEASON (2008-09)
LSU's most valuable player who enjoyed one of the finest seasons in school history ... Led LSU in six categories, including points (14.9), assists (3.0), steals (1.9), blocks (1.2), minutes played (35.0) and field goal percentage (.457) ... Finished the season with 447 points that put her at 943 points for her career, 57 shy of 1000 ... Started all 30 games ... Earned State Farm Coaches Honorable Mention All-America Team honors ... A unanimous selection to the All-SEC First Team as chosen by the league's coaches ... Also a member of the SEC All-Defensive Team ... Became the first player in school history to lead the Lady Tigers in points, assists, steals and blocks in a single season and became the first player since All-American Marie Ferdinand (1999) to lead LSU in points, assists and steals in a single season ... Ranked fifth in the SEC in points per game, fifth in field goal percentage, 11th in assists, seventh in steals, 11th in blocked shots, second in minutes played and third in assist/turnover ratio (1.8) ... Led all SEC guards in blocked shots and was the only guard in the league to rank in the top 11 in both blocks and steals ... LSU's leading scorer in 18 of 30 games and delivered in nearly every one of the Lady Tigers' big contests ... Averaged 23.5 points and 4.0 assists in the NCAA Tournament ... Reached double-figures in 26 of 30 games and played all 40 minutes in six games ... Scored 20 points or more in six contests ... Registered her first career double-double versus No. 25 Xavier on Nov. 26 with 15 points and a career-best 11 rebounds ... Carried LSU against Florida State on Dec. 28 with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 36 minutes of action ... Tossed in 14 points -- 12 in the first half -- before fouling out at No. 1 Connecticut on Jan. 3 ... Added three assists, two steals and a block and finished 5-of-8 from the free throw line against the Huskies ... Buried 17 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting to help lead LSU past Alabama on Jan. 11 ... Nearly had a double-double against the Tide with nine boards, three assists and two blocks ... Dropped 22 points on a 10-of-16 effort from the field at #18 Vanderbilt on Jan. 18 with seven rebounds and four steals ... Played the entire game against the Commodores ... Finished with 10 points and a career-high four blocks against Mississippi State at Jan. 22 while playing all 40 minutes for the second straight game ... Led LSU with 18 points at Kentucky on Jan. 25 and knocked down six free throws, including four in the final minute that put the game away ... Lifted LSU past No. 9/11 Florida on Feb. 15 with a game-high 21 points, three assists, two blocks and a career-high five steals ... Led all scorers with 16 points, six rebounds and a season-high five steals to lift LSU past Georgia on Feb. 19 ... Scored 20 points -- 18 in the second half -- to lead LSU past Kentucky on Feb. 22 ... Blocked the potential game-winning shot with two seconds remaining to preserve the victory ... Had 14 points against #18/23 Tennessee, but missed the final 9:31 of the game after suffering from leg cramps ... Buried 23 points -- 19 in the second half -- to lead LSU past Mississippi State in the second round of the SEC Tournament on March 6 ... Made her first eight shots of the second half against the Lady Bulldogs and tied a career-high 10 field goals ... Saw a streak of 15 consecutive double-figure scoring games come to an end with six points versus Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament semifinal on March 7 ... The streak was the longest since Sylvia Fowles had 16 straight double-figure games in 2008 ... Streak began on Jan. 11 at Alabama for Hightower ... Career-high 26 points versus Green Bay in NCAA Tournament First Round on March 22 ... Had 20 points in the first half, the most by an LSU player in a half in an NCAA Tournament game since Marie Ferdinand had 20 versus Purdue in the second round on March 18, 2001 ... Followed that up with a 21-point effort that nearly led LSU to an upset of No. 7 Louisville in the second round on March 24 while playing all 40 minutes ... Finished a career-best 9-of-12 from the free throw line against the Cardinals ... Shot a combined 17-of-22 from the free throw line in the NCAA Tournament ... Invited to USA Basketball World University Games Team Trials in May.
SOPHOMORE SEASON (2007-08)
Played in all 37 games with two starts ... Named the SEC's Sixth Woman of the Year by the league’s coaches... Scored a career-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 3-for-4 from 3-point land in the season-opener against Samford ... Poured in 15 points at Tulane on Dec. 2 ... Also scored 15 points in the SEC opener at Arkansas on Jan. 10 ... Scored 14 points at Florida on Feb. 3 ... Posted 12 points and seven rebounds at Kentucky on Jan. 27 ... Also had seven rebounds at Rutgers on Nov. 25.
FRESHMAN SEASON (2006-07)
Played in all 38 games and started against McNeese State and Louisiana Tech in late December ... Named Freshman All-SEC by the coaches ... Scored her first collegiate points in the season-opener against West Virginia ... Started for the first time against McNeese State on Dec. 20 and finished with nine points ... Also scored nine points at Tulane on Nov. 19 ... Scored 12 points in the come-from-behind victory over Georgia on Jan. 7 ... Poured in a career-best 14 points in the victory at Mississippi State on Jan. 14 ... Added 11 points off the bench in the loss to No. 5 Connecticut on Feb. 11 ... Scored 12 points in the victory over Tennessee in the SEC Tournament ... Added 12 points on 3-for-4 from 3-point range in LSU's upset win over Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament Regional Final on March 26 ... Her .771 (27-for-35) free throw percentage was second highest on the team ... Named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 8 ... Invited to the 2007 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Junior National Teams Trials in Colorado Springs in May.
HIGH SCHOOL
Averaged 21.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.0 steals and 5.0 assists per game during her career at Juan Seguin High School for head coach Courtney Phillips ... Finished as Seguin's all-time leading scorer with 2,182 points in three seasons ... Helped her school to a 28-0 District 7-4A record during her last two seasons, leading Seguin to the state regional finals ... Earned WBCA and McDonald's All-American honors as a senior ... Started for the West team in the McDonald's All-American game and scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds, had two assists, two blocks and four steals in the victory ... Also started in the WBCA All-Star game and finished with five points, five rebounds and two steals ... Won the 3-point shooting contest at the McDonald's All-American festivities in San Diego ... Named second-team Parade All-American and sixth-team Street & Smith's All-American as a senior ... A two-time Dallas Morning News All-Area first-team selection ... Named district MVP in both 2005 and 2006 ... Member of the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival Team that earned the silver medal in 2005 ... Invited to the U18 USA Basketball team trials ... Also starred for the track team at Juan Seguin and won the 4A state title in the high jump.
PERSONAL
Full name is Allison Kira Hightower ... Born on April 6, 1988, in Dallas, Texas ... Daughter of David and Regina Hightower ... Has one older brother, Tony ... Majoring in general studies.
HIGHTOWER’S CAREER HIGHS
Points: 26 vs. Green Bay; March 22, 2009 (NCAA)
Rebounds: 11 vs. #25 Xavier; Nov. 26, 2008
Field Goals: 10 at #18 Vanderbilt; Jan. 18, 2009; 10 vs. Mississippi State; March 6, 2009 (SEC)
FG Attempts: 20 vs. #9/11 Florida; Feb. 15, 2009
3-Pt Field Goals: 4 vs. TCU; Nov. 11, 2007
3-Pt FG Attempts: 5 three times
Free Throws: 9 vs. #7 Louisville; March 24, 2009 (NCAA)
FT Attempts: 12 vs. #7 Louisville; March 24, 2009 (NCAA)
Assists: 7 vs. TCU; Nov. 11, 2007; 7 at Ole Miss; March 1, 2009
Steals: 5 vs. #9/11 Florida; Feb. 15, 2009
Blocks: 4 vs. Mississippi State; Jan. 22, 2009
Minutes: 40 six times
What They Are Saying About Allison Hightower ...
“Allison Hightower’s patented move begins on the right wing. A slash through the lane, it develops quickly. And it ends with a bang. Hightower lofts the ball softly using her left hand, a floater that even tall, athletic defenders find impossible to disrupt. Such describes Hightower’s stock these days in women’s college basketball circles.”
-- Scott Hotard, Baton Rouge Advocate
“She can easily be a first-team member of the Big East because of the way she plays. She's first team anywhere. She's an all-around great basketball player by the way she plays."
-- Angel McCoughtry, 2009 WNBA No. 1 Draft Pick
“Earlier today, our radio guy asked me to compare (Allison) Hightower to someone in our league, and I kind of hesitated for awhile, thinking that there is no one in our league like her. She’s special, and she was really special tonight. She was a difference-maker.”
-- Matt Bollant, Green Bay head coach following 2009 NCAA First Round
“There’s no question in my mind that Allison Hightower is one of the best players in the country. Her work ethic and attitude have been outstanding her entire career. She’s a leader on and off the floor and she’s the face of our team.”
-- Van Chancellor, LSU head coach
