Pondexter Named WBNS National Player of the Year
Mar 28 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ – Rutgers fifth-year senior Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) has been named the National Player of the Year by the Women’s Basketball News Service, earning a spot on the group’s All-America First Team.
Pondexter is the second Scarlet Knight to be named the WBNS National Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of former standout and current RU assistant coach Sue Wicks, who won the same award in 1988.
Pondexter, who has been named a finalist for the State Farm Wade Trophy (national player of the year), the Naismith Award (national player of the year) and the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, as well as one of 11 nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard) and a member of the national ballot for the Women’s Wooden Award (national player of the year), averaged 21.6 points per contest (tied for sixth nationally as of March 22), adding 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game this season. Named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Player of the Month for January was the unanimous choice as the BIG EAST Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to be named to the All-BIG EAST First Team four times during her career. The MVP at the Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26 and the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge Dec. 3-4, the 5-9 guard was selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team for the fourth straight year (22.5 ppg) and 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.
Pondexter helped lead No. 9/9 Rutgers to a 27-5 overall record, advancing to the regional semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights posted a perfect 16-0 mark in BIG EAST Conference regular-season play to win their second straight outright BIG EAST regular-season crown.
She was joined on the WBNS All-America First Team by Seimone Augustus (LSU), Monique Currie (Duke), Jessica Davenport (Ohio State), Tasha Humphrey (Georgia), Ivory Latta (North Carolina), Courtney Paris (Oklahoma), Candace Parker (Tennessee), Candice Wiggins (Stanford) and Sophia Young (Baylor).
