Pondexter Named Kodak/WBCA All-American
Apr 01 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers fifth-year senior Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) has been named to the 10-member Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America First Team.
Pondexter is the fourth Rutgers player to be named a first-team Kodak/WBCA All-American, following in the footsteps of Kris Kirchner (1981), June Olkowski (1982) and current RU assistant coach Sue Wicks (1986-88).?? Pondexter also was a finalist for the 2006 State Farm Wade Trophy, the WBCA's national player-of-the-year award.?? Wicks was the only other Knight to earn that distinction (1988).?? Previously, Pondexter was three times an honorable-mention Kodak/WBCA All-American (2003-2005).
'I am humbled and honored to be named a Kodak/WBCA All-American,' said Pondexter.?? 'It is a very special award to be in the company of so many great players, both past and present.?? I think this All-America Team has a special meaning because it is voted on by the coaches, so I would like to thank them for recognizing me in this way.?? This is a culmination of five years of hard work, and it is nice to have that effort acknowledged by being named a Kodak All-American.?? It is a great honor, both for me and for Rutgers University, and I am happy and excited to be selected as one of the members of this year's team.'
The 2006 Women's Basketball News Service National Player of the Year, Pondexter has been named a finalist for all three major national player-of-the-year awards (State Farm Wade Trophy, Naismith and Women's Wooden Award) and the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, as well as one of 11 nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard).?? She 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 U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Team and the ESPN.com All-America First Team, the 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 was joined by Semione 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) on the Kodak/WBCA All-America First Team.?? Augustus was selected as the winner of the State Farm Wade Trophy.
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.
