Young, Terry Earn C-USA Preseason Honors
October 15, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 15, 2008
IRVING, Texas - Senior guards Jasmine Young and LaCoya Terry have been named to the 2008-09 Preseason All-Conference USA Women's Basketball Team, according to an announcement by the Dallas-based league on Wednesday. East Carolina is the only program to have two preseason honorees while Young's selection marks her second-consecutive preseason accolade. Additionally, the Lady Pirates were picked fourth by the conference's head coaches in their preseason poll. The top four finishers in the league standings earn first-round byes in the 2009 edition of the C-USA Championship.
ECU enters 2008-09 as the only program in C-USA that returns two of the league's Top 10 scorers. Young and Terry earned All-C-USA second team honors and surpassed the 1,000-point scoring mark for their careers a year ago. Terry averaged a team-best 15.4 points per game, while Young chipped in 14.1 points per game. Terry also recorded a C-USA single-game best of 35 points against UAB on Feb. 21. Young led the team and ranked 13th in the NCAA is assists per game, averaging 6.2. She is only 68 assists shy of taking over the No. 2 spot on the league's all-time list, as she currently owns 556 career assists. Young also appears at No. 5 and No. 15 on the league's all-time assists (6.0) and steals (2.5) per game charts, respectively. Head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener welcomes back four starters from last season's squad, three of whom were a part of the 2007 C-USA Tournament Championship team.
After advancing to the third round of the 2008 WNIT, Southern Miss enters the season as the favorite to win the 2009 regular season title. Fifth-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis returns her entire starting five as well as 91 percent of the team's scoring and 89 percent of its rebounding from a year ago. The Golden Eagles wrapped up the 2008 campaign with an overall record of 21-14.
SMU, picked second, enters this season as the defending C-USA Tournament champion as head coach Rhonda Rompola returns three starters and eight letterwinners from a team that went 24-9 a year ago. The Mustangs' 24 victories marked a program all-time best. Leading SMU this season will be juniors Delisha Wills and Jillian Samuels, as well as sophomore Brittany Gilliam. The trio represents the top three returning scorers for the Mustangs. SMU appeared in its seventh NCAA Championship in 2008.
UTEP, which tallied three first-place votes from the coaches and was chosen third, became the first team in league history to march through the conference slate unbeaten (16-0). The Miners also became the 11th different program in league history to win a regular season crown. UTEP ended the 2008 season ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Head coach Keitha Adams returns two starters, including C-USA Preseason Player-of-the-Year Jareica Hughes.
Tulane, tabbed fifth and host of the 2009 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship, returns three starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team that went 16-14. Head coach Lisa Stockton, C-USA's all-time winningest women's basketball coach, has a well-balanced roster with seven veterans and six underclassmen.
After recording three consecutive double-doubles during the 2008 C-USA Championship, Marshall Sophomore Tynikki Crook returns to lead the Thundering Herd, which is expected to finish sixth in the upcoming season. Head Coach Royce Chadwick has four starters returning and six letterwinners back from a squad that advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament and produced an overall record of 17-16.
The Lady Pirates open the 2008-09 campaign on Friday, November 14 with a contest against Hampton inside Minges Coliseum. The game is part of a season-opening doubleheader with the men's squad, as it begins its second season under head coach Mack McCarthy at 7:30 against Coker College.
2008-09 Preseason C-USA Coaches Poll
1. Southern Miss
2. SMU
3. UTEP
4. East Carolina
5. Tulane
6. Marshall
2008-09 Preseason All-Conference USA Team
Jasmine Young, G, Sr., East Carolina
LaCoya Terry, G, Sr., East Carolina
Jareica Hughes, G, Jr., UTEP
Pauline Love, F, Jr., Southern Miss
Larissa Williams, F/C, Jr., Tulsa
