Tamera Young, JMU

Dawn Evans, JMU

Wendy Larry, ODU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kimberly Zivkovich, ODU
(757) 683-3372
  
April 25, 2008


JMU’s Young Named Women's Basketball Player of the Year
ODU’s Larry Coach of the Year, JMU’s Evans Rookie of the Year

NORFOLK, Va. – The Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) announced today the 2007-08 University Division Women’s Basketball All-State Teams and individual awards. James Madison’s Tamera Young was named the Player of the Year and teammate Dawn Evans took home Rookie of the Year honors while Old Dominion’s Wendy Larry earned the Coach of the Year accolade.

2008 VaSID University Division Women's Basketball All-State Team

Young, a senior guard/forward from Wilmington, N.C., averaged 20.4 points per game along with 10.4 rebounds. She was the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year and became the first Duke ever to be drafted into the WNBA, as she was selected with the eighth overall pick to the Atlanta Dream. Scoring 693 points as a senior, she became the program’s and conference’s career record holder in points with 2,121. She was an AP All-America Honorable Mention and for the third time was named to the Richmond Times-Dispatch All-State First Team. With the honor, she became a repeat member of the VaSID All-State First Team.

Evans, a freshman guard from Clarksville, Tenn., was the runner-up for CAA Rookie of the Year and earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors four times this season. She averaged 13.5 points in her first season along with nearly four assists and just over two rebounds per game. She launched 242 three-balls, converting on 85, for a CAA best 2.8 per game, ranking her tenth in the NCAA. She averaged over 32 minutes per game, started 26 games as a newcomer and helped James Madison advance to the third round of the WNIT.

Larry, in her 21st season with Old Dominion, guided the Lady Monarchs back to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and to their highest national ranking in eight years as the team was ranked as high as 10th in both the Associated Press & ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Polls. She was named CAA Coach of the Year for the seventh time as she coached her team to a 17-1 record in conference play and captured the regular season title for the 14th time in the last 17 years. She also guided the team to its unprecedented 17th straight CAA Championship while in the process, winning her 500th game at Old Dominion. Her team finished with a 31-5 record with four of the five losses coming to teams that advanced to the Final Four.

Joining Young on the 2007-08 VaSID University Division All-State First Team were Liberty’s Megan Frazee, Virginia’s Monica Wright, ODU’s T.J. Jordan, and Virginia Tech’s Brittany Cook.

Frazee, a junior guard/forward from Xenia, Ohio, averaged 18.6 points and 9.5 rebounds, along with nearly three assists per game. She was the Big South Conference Player of the Year, Big South Tournament MVP, and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team honoree. She was a six-time Big South Player of the Week and was named the Richmond Times-Dispatch State Player of the Year.

Wright, a sophomore guard from Woodbridge, Va., averaged 17.6 points as she helped lead UVa to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She shot nearly 50% from the field and averaged just over 2.4 steals per game as she was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team. Wright was named a WBCA Region 2 All-American.

Jordan, a senior guard from Portsmouth, Va. was the leading scorer for Old Dominion as they advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. A First-Team All-CAA honoree, during the season she became the all-time program and conference leader in three-point baskets.

Finally, a junior guard at Virginia Tech from Narrows, Va., Cook was the ACC leader in scoring this season with 17.9 points per game. She shot over 50% from the field and also pulled in over six rebounds a game while dishing 76 assists on the season. She was named a 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American and was the Tournament MVP of the Tulane DoubleTree Classic.

All-State teams are selected by active members of the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association.  For more information, please visit the VaSID site at http://www.ferrum.edu/athletics/vasid.