Pondexter Named Senior CLASS Award Finalist
Mar 02 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers fifth-year senior Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) has been named one of 10 finalists for the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, given annually to the nation’s senior national player of the year.
More than 100 coaches and members of the media will receive private ballots. Fans may vote online from March 6-20 at www.seniorclassaward.com.
Pondexter, who also was named a mid-season candidate for the Naismith Award and Women’s Wooden Award (player of the year) as well as one of 11 nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard), ranks fifth nationally in scoring, averaging 21.4 points per game, adding 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals per contest this season. The MVP at the Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26 and the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge Dec. 3-4, she has also received four BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-week awards (Jan. 2, Jan. 16, Feb. 6, Feb. 13) and six berths on the BIG EAST Honor Roll (Nov. 28, Dec. 5, Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Jan. 23, Jan. 30). Pondexter was a frequent member of preseason honor lists this fall, earning first-team All-America accolades from the Associated Press and Women’s Basketball News Service, second-team All-America mentions from Gballmag.com, Lindy’s and Athlon Sports, and a spot on the Street & Smith’s “Terrific 10” Preseason All-America Team. Named a candidate for all three 2005-2006 national player-of-the-year awards (Naismith, Wade Trophy, Women’s Wooden Award), Pondexter is the BIG EAST’s Preseason Player of the Year. Pondexter also was named a candidate for the 2005 Senior CLASS Award.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award was launched during the 2000-2001 season in response to the trend of college basketball players leaving college early to join the professional ranks. While performance on the basketball court is the defining attribute, candidates must maintain NCAA student-athlete academic standards and be working towards a degree. The foundation of the award is based on commitment to their university and their education while achieving on the basketball court. The remarkable story of Shane Battier returning to lead Duke to the national championship in 2001 inspired the inception of the award.
Other women’s finalists include Seimone Augustus of LSU, Monique Currie of Duke, LaToya Davis of Texas Tech, Megan Duffy of Notre Dame, Candice Dupree of Temple, Liz Shimek of Michigan State, Ann Strother and Barbara Turner of Connecticut and Sophia Young of Baylor.
The winner of the last two BIG EAST Conference regular-season titles, No. 6/6 Rutgers (24-3, 16-0 BIG EAST) will look to capture its first BIG EAST Tournament crown next week. The top-seeded Scarlet Knights will begin play in the quarterfinal round, facing the winner of the first-round game between eighth seed Villanova (18-9, 9-7 BIG EAST) and ninth seed Marquette (18-9, 9-7 BIG EAST). Tipoff at the Hartford Civic Center (16,294) will be at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 5.
The game will be shown live on CSTV, and will be carried live on WMTR 1250 AM and on Rutgers’ student radio station, WRSU 88.7 FM. A live stream of the audio, as well as live statistics, will be available via www.scarletknights.com.
The winner of the quarterfinal contest will advance to the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals Monday, March 6, at 6:00 p.m.
