Tulane's Sands, Langford Earn League Honors
Mar 1, 2006 | Women's Basketball
March 1, 2006
DALLAS, Texas - Tulane's Jennifer Sands was named to the third team All-Conference USA squad and freshman Ashley Langford became the first Green Wave rookie to earn All-Freshman honors in seven seasons as Conference USA announced its 2006 women's basketball award winners Wednesday.
Sands, Tulane's leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, has three double-doubles and 17 double-figure scoring games on the season. She is coming off a 24-point, 12-rebound performance versus SMU in the regular season finale last Sunday in her hometown of Dallas as Tulane upset the Mustangs to earn the No. 6 seed in the Conference USA Tournament. She ranks second on the Green Wave team in field goal percentage.
"It's a great accomplishment for Jennifer to come from being injured most of her freshman year to being an all-conference performer and leading us in scoring and rebounding," said Tulane Head Coach Lisa Stockton. "She has come out of nowhere to lead us in those categories and has had a tremendous impact on the success of the team."
Sands' selection marks the second straight season a Green Wave post player has been named to the C-USA third team. Lakethia Hampton earned the same honor following her senior season last year.
Langford is the first Tulane player named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team since Sarah Goree was recognized in 1998-99. The Conference USA leader in assists with 6.33 per game, Langford broke a pair of Tulane school assist records Sunday. With 14 assists in the game, she broke the school record for assists in a game she had set the previous week, while also surpassing the single season mark of 139 assists set in the 1982-83 season. Langford enters the C-USA Tournament with 152 assists and is the top freshman in the country in assists.
"Ashley has had a tremendous freshman year, not only what she's done for us with her assists but her maturity as a freshman to lead our team to a sixth-place finish," Stockton said.
Tulsa All-America candidate Jillian Robbins, the leading scorer and rebounder in the league, was named the C-USA Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year. Golden Hurricane Head Coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson earned C-USA Coach of the Year honors and Paris Leonard of Memphis was named the Sixth Player of the Year. Southern Miss' Kendra Reed and ECU's Jasmine Young shared the C-USA Freshman of the Year award.
The complete list of All-Conference and All-Freshmen honorees follows.
All-Conference USA
First Team
Janielle Dodds, SMU
Carmen Guzman, UAB
Tye Jackson, Houston
Lauren Neaves, Rice
Jillian Robbins, Tulsa
Second Team
Cherie Mills, East Carolina
Megan Moody, Tulsa
Kendra Reed, Southern Miss
Sikeetha Shepard-Hall, Marshall
Jasmine Young, East Carolina
Third Team
Sarah Davis, SMU
Krystal Frazier, Rice
Sha'Ratta Hawkins, Houston
Kara Pongonis-Paslay, Tulsa
Jennifer Sands, Tulane
All-Freshman Team
Sha'Ratta Hawkins, Houston
Brittney Jones, UAB
Ashley Langford, Tulane
Kendra Reed, Southern Miss
Jasmine Young, East Carolina
Coach of the Year
Charlene Thomas-Swinson, Tulsa
Player of the Year
Jillian Robbins, Tulsa
Freshman of the Year
Kendra Reed, Southern Miss
Jasmine Young, East Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year
Jillian Robbins, Tulsa
Sixth Player of the Year
Paris Leonard, Memphis
-- Roll Wave --
