March 15, 2003

South Carolina senior Jocelyn Penn was named to the United States Baskeball Writers Association All-American team. Penn is one of four SEC players on the squad and the USBWA All-American nod is the first All-American honor of her career.

Penn and her teammates await the March 16th NCAA Tournament Selection Show to see where the Gamecocks will head to for their 2003 NCAA Tourney run.

University of Connecticut guard Diana Taurasi and Huskies coach Geno Auriemma have been named national player and coach of the year, respectively, by the United States Basketball Writers Association. LSU’s Seimone Augustus was chosen as the USBWA’s freshman of the year.

The USBWA is the largest sportswriters organization in the country, comprised of nearly 1,000 members. Formed in 1956, it began honoring women players in 1988. Previous national player of the year winners include Dawn Staley of Virginia, Sheryl Swoopes of Texas Tech, Lisa Leslie of USC, Rebecca Lobo of Connecticut and Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee.

The first USBWA women’s national coach of the year was Tara VanDerveer of Stanford in 1990. Other winners include Debbie Ryan of Virginia, Leon Barmore of Louisiana Tech, Pat Summitt of Tennessee and Carolyn Peck of Purdue.

USBWA ALL-AMERICAN TEAM Chantelle Anderson, Vanderbilt Alana Beard, Duke Kara Lawson, Tennessee Kelly Mazzante, Penn State Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State Jocelyn Penn, South Carolina Diana Taurasi, Connecticut LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State Kendra Wecker, Kansas State Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Diana Taurasi, Connecticut COACH OF THE YEAR: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Seimone Augustus, LSU